"The court blocked an order by Washington-based U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan that had shielded Rebecca Slaughter, who had sued to challenge Trump's action, from being dismissed from the consumer protection and antitrust agency prior to her term expiring. The Supreme Court also announced on Monday that it will hear arguments in the case in December. The court has a 6-3 conservative majority. Its three liberal justices dissented from Monday's order letting Trump remove Slaughter for now."
"The dispute centers on Trump's power to dismiss government agency heads covered by removal protections that Congress put in place to give certain agencies a degree of independence from presidential control. Federal law permits a president to remove FTC commissioners only for cause-such as inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office-but not for policy differences. Similar protections cover officials at other independent agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board."
"Slaughter was one of two Democratic commissioners who Trump moved to fire in March. The firings drew sharp criticism from Democratic senators and antimonopoly groups concerned that the move was designed to eliminate opposition within the agency to big corporations. AliKhan in July blocked Trump's firing of Slaughter, rejecting the Trump administration's argument that the tenure protections unlawfully encroach on presidential power."
The Supreme Court blocked a district judge's order that had protected FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter from dismissal, allowing President Trump to remove her for now. The court scheduled arguments in the case for December and issued the interim order over a three-justice liberal dissent. The case centers on presidential authority to remove officials who have statutory removal protections intended to preserve agency independence. Federal law permits removal of FTC commissioners only for cause, such as inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance. Slaughter was one of two Democratic commissioners Trump sought to fire, drawing criticism from senators and antimonopoly groups.
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