# US Supreme Court overturns 91-year-old Humphrey's Executor precedent, letting Trump fire independent agency heads > A 6-3 majority in Trump v. Slaughter declared that for-cause removal protections at multimember independent agencies are unconstitutional, ending the 1935 shield that kept the FTC, NLRB and roughly two dozen other commissions beyond the US president's reach **Meta:** type: event · date: 2026-06-29 · heads: 谁说了算, 什么崩了 · 11 takes · 5 lenses · 2 regions ## Summary The US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Trump v. Slaughter on June 29 that the US president may remove members of independent federal agencies without cause, formally overturning the 1935 Humphrey's Executor v. United States precedent that had shielded multimember commissions from White House control. The case arose from Trump's March 2025 firing of FTC Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya. Chief Justice Roberts, writing for the conservative majority, held that the Constitution's vesting clause gives the president plenary removal authority over executive officers. The same day, in a companion 5-4 ruling in Trump v. Cook, Roberts joined the three liberals and Brett Kavanaugh to block Trump's August 2025 firing of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, the first Black woman on the Fed board, citing a "tradition of central banking protected from political interference." Trump celebrated on Truth Social, calling the Slaughter ruling a "BIG WIN." Justice Kagan, dissenting in Slaughter, said the court had repealed Humphrey's Executor "by fiat." ## The split The paired rulings create a two-tier system: independent regulatory agencies (FTC, NLRB, MSPB, EEOC, CPSC, NTSB, around two dozen in total) now operate at the president's pleasure; the Federal Reserve retains statutory insulation for now, though the Cook ruling is a preliminary injunction decision, not the final word on the merits. Legal commentators noted Roberts engineered the split to protect dollar credibility while giving Trump maximum domestic executive power. ## By the numbers - 6-3, majority in Trump v. Slaughter (five conservative justices plus Roberts; Kagan, Sotomayor, Jackson dissenting) - 5-4, majority in Trump v. Cook (Roberts and Kavanaugh joining the three liberals) - ~24, independent agencies whose for-cause removal protections are now unenforceable - 91, years Humphrey's Executor was good law before today's ruling ## Why it matters Roughly two dozen agencies, including the NLRB, MSPB, EEOC, CPSC and NTSB, now operate at the president's pleasure. Their bipartisan-balance requirements become unenforceable. The Fed carve-out preserves the immediate safe harbour for global dollar markets, but the Cook ruling is still in litigation, leaving the question of Fed independence open. For trading partners, firms subject to US enforcement, and allies relying on independent US regulatory signals, the ruling cements a structural shift in executive power they must price into long-term arrangements. ## What to watch - Whether Trump immediately fires additional NLRB or MSPB members using the ruling as direct authority. - The Cook merits case: whether lower courts sustain the Fed carve-out after full briefing. - Congressional response: Democrats have signalled legislation to codify for-cause protections but lack the votes. ## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens) ### independent legal coverage; first detailed breakdown of the majority, concurrences and Sotomayor dissent - **SCOTUSblog** (United States, en) — SCOTUSblog reported the 6-3 majority opinion overturning Humphrey's Executor, noting that Chief Justice Roberts carved out a possible Fed exemption and that Justice Sotomayor warned the ruling gave the president 'powers of a king.' The decision formalises Trump's March 2025 firings of FTC Commissioners Slaughter and Bedoya. > "The court ruled that the president may fire members of independent agencies like the FTC without cause, overturning a 91-year-old precedent." Source: https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/06/court-allows-trump-to-fire-ftc-commissioner-and-overturns-major-restraint-on-presidential-power/ ### unlabelled - **CNBC** (United States, en) — Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/29/supreme-court-trump-slaughter-ftc.html - **NPR** (United States, en) — Source: https://www.npr.org/2026/06/29/nx-s1-5816232/supreme-court-ftc-independent-agencies-humphreys-executor - **CBS News** (United States, en) — Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-trump-ftc-slaughter-humphreys-executor/ - **Axios** (United States, en) — Source: https://www.axios.com/2026/06/29/trump-ftc-supreme-court-fed-humphreys-executor - **Newsweek** (United States, en) — Source: https://www.newsweek.com/supreme-court-federal-reserve-lisa-cook-donald-trump-12135615 - **RedState** (United States, en) — Source: https://redstate.com/smoosieq/2026/06/29/scotus-slaughter-n2203445 - **CBC News** (Canada, en) — Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-scotus-rulings-cook-fed-slaughter-ftc-9.7252310 ### first outlet to publish both rulings (Slaughter 6-3 and Cook 5-4) side by side; carries Trump's Truth Social reaction - **NBC News** (United States, en) — NBC News reported the companion ruling in Trump v. Cook: a 5-4 majority (Roberts, Kavanaugh and the three liberals) blocked Trump's August 2025 firing of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the Fed board. Roberts wrote that 'tradition of central banking protected from political interference' distinguishes the Fed from other independent agencies, preserving the carve-out. Trump responded on Truth Social calling the Slaughter ruling a 'BIG WIN' and the 'most important ever given with respect to Presidential Powers.' Justice Kagan's dissent in Slaughter said the court had repealed Humphrey's Executor 'by fiat.' > "The Supreme Court split: 6-3 to let Trump fire other independent agency heads, 5-4 to block his firing of Fed Governor Lisa Cook." Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-rules-trump-cannot-fire-fed-member-lisa-cook-grants-powe-rcna234931 ### US administrative-law academic press; constitutional depth - **Lawfare** (United States, en) — Lawfare argued Slaughter is more consequential than Cook: overruling Humphrey's Executor hands all future presidents, not just Trump, permanent authority to fire multi-member commissioners across the FTC, SEC, NLRB, CFPB, NRC, FCC and roughly 18 other agencies. It framed the Fed carve-out as a narrow exception premised on the Federal Reserve Act's text, not a broad principle of central-bank independence. > "Slaughtering Humphrey's Executor: what the ruling means for all independent agencies." Source: https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/slaughter--ing-humphrey-s-executor ### US conservative outlet; celebratory framing on overruling Humphrey's - **Daily Signal** (United States, en) — The Daily Signal celebrated Slaughter as a blow to the administrative state, casting Humphrey's Executor as an unconstitutional limit on executive power. It treated Cook as a temporary procedural setback the administration expects to overcome at the merits stage. > "Supreme Court strikes blow to deep state, reversing 90-year precedent in Humphrey's Executor." Source: https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/06/29/supreme-court-strikes-blow-deep-state-reversing-90-year-precedent-in-humphreys-executor/ ## Across the graph - Related: [[scotus-trump-cook-fed-jun29]], [[scotus-watson-rnc-mail-ballot-jun29]], [[trump-scotus-birthright-fed-rulings]], [[warsh-fed-june2026]] - Entities: Person:donald Trump, Courts vs Elected Power --- Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/zh/n/scotus-trump-slaughter-ftc-jun29