US EditionSupreme Court grants Trump request to fire independent agency members, except the Fed
- On May 22, 2025, the Supreme Court issued a temporary ruling allowing President Trump to fire two independent labor agency members, Gwynne Wilcox and Cathy Harris, while their legal cases continue.
- The ruling stems from a dispute over the 1935 Supreme Court decision Humphrey's Executor, which limits presidential firing of independent board members without cause, a principle long challenged by conservative legal theorists.
- Wilcox, the first Black woman on the National Labor Relations Board since 2021, and Harris, former Merit Systems Protection Board chair, were removed by Trump despite their terms not expiring for years, affecting agency functions amid his workforce cuts.
- The court's unsigned opinion stated the Constitution appears to grant the president authority to remove executive officers without cause, while dissenting Justice Kagan warned this overturns long-standing precedent and risks government chaos.
- This decision signals a broader endorsement of expansive presidential power over independent agencies, though it excludes the Federal Reserve, and the outcome could permanently reshape agency independence if upheld in later rulings.
221 Articles
221 Articles
SCOTUS Gives Trump Green Light to Fire Heads of Independent Agencies
The Supreme Court has granted an emergency request by the Trump administration allowing the president to fire leaders of most independent government agencies. The court’s 6-3 ruling clears the way for Trump to terminate National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox, as well as Cathy Harris, a member of the Merit Systems Protection Board, which protects the rights of federal workers. The ruling includes a narrow carve-out protecting the ind…
Elena Kagan Does That Thing Elena Kagan Does Where She Humiliates The Majority - Above the Law
(Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images) Antonin Scalia earned a reputation for throwing shade at his colleagues. And while we all appreciate the lexical heavy-lifting that brought jiggery-pokery into our lives, his swipes came from a place of combative and often mocking proto-snark. Which we’re all for here at Above the Law! But there’s something next level about Elena Kagan’s professorial “I’m not mad, just disappointed that you’re stupid” s…
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