All six conservative justices signaled they would gut Humphrey's Executor at December 2025 arguments in Trump v. Slaughter, threatening FTC and agency independence.
The Supreme Court appears poised to strip independent federal agencies of their protection against presidential removal, with all six conservative justices signaling during December 2025 oral arguments that they would rule in favor of expanded executive authority over agency commissioners [1]. A decision is expected by the end of June 2026 [1].
The case, *Trump v. Slaughter*, arose after President Trump fired Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, a sitting Federal Trade Commission commissioner, testing the limits of the 1935 precedent *Humphrey's Executor v. United States*, which held that Congress could insulate agency heads from at-will presidential removal [2]. The case is before the U.S. Supreme Court, with Solicitor General D. John Sauer arguing the government's position that the Constitution vests the president with removal authority over officials exercising executive functions [1]. Justice Elena Kagan led the dissenting line of questioning, pressing the government on the scope of any ruling and the stability of existing agency structures [1].
The substantive stakes are significant. A ruling for the administration would expose commissioners at the FTC, NLRB, EEOC, SEC, and FERC to presidential removal at will, dismantling the structural independence Congress built into each agency [2]. The Federal Reserve emerged during argument as a potential carve-out, with several justices appearing reluctant to subject the central bank to the same framework, though no formal distinction has been drawn [1]. The court's conservative bloc, including Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, pressed skeptically on whether *Humphrey's Executor* could survive contact with the court's more recent unitary executive jurisprudence [1].
The doctrinal consequences extend beyond personnel. Independent agencies issue rules, adjudicate disputes, and impose civil penalties with limited White House oversight. A ruling requiring presidential control over removal would, at minimum, create litigation targets across every major enforcement action those agencies have taken or intend to take [2]. Regulated industries, from financial services to labor-intensive sectors, are already reassessing compliance postures in anticipation of potential agency restructuring [2].
The court is expected to issue its ruling before the term closes in late June 2026 [1]. Congress retains authority to respond legislatively, but any statutory fix would face immediate constitutional challenge under whatever standard the court sets [2]. Practitioners advising clients before the named agencies should treat the current enforcement landscape as transitional.