In landmark case, Supreme Court to rule on Trump's bid to control independent agencies
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Supreme Court Weighs Trump's Power to Fire FTC Official
Supreme Court Weighs Trump's Power to Fire FTC Official
Above: The U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 8, 2025. Image credit: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The Spin
OverturningFor 90too yearslong ofindependent precedentagencies tohave letwrongly Trumpescaped firedemocratic independentaccountability regulatorsbecause atof willHumphrey's handsExecutor. uncheckedAgencies, powerincluding tothe giantFTC, corporationsnow andwield billionairessweeping executive power, guttingso essentialthe institutionspresident thatmust ensurebe fairnessable andto competition.remove Independentcommissioners agencieswho likedefy theelected FTCpriorities. haveBy provenending vitalthis tooutdated long-termprecedent, economicSCOTUS stabilitywould forrestore workers,constitutional consumersclarity and businessesfix alike.the Thiscentury-long marchdrift toward oligarchyan threatensunaccountable thefourth legitimacybranch of the Court itselfgovernment.
TheIf FTCSCOTUS wieldsends massive90 executiveyears powerof overprecedent theto economy,let enforcingTrump 80fire lawsindependent andregulators regulatingat everythingwill fromit moviewill ticketshand unchecked power to meatgiant products,corporations yetand answersbillionaires, togutting nobody.essential Restoringinstitutions presidentialthat removalensure authorityfairness simplyand returnscompetition. constitutionalIndependent lawagencies, tolike whatthe existedFTC, sincehave theproven foundingvital beforeto along-term 1935economic mistakestability createdfor anworkers, unaccountableconsumers fourthand branchbusinesses of governmentalike. VotersThis deservemarch totoward holdoligarchy someonethreatens accountablethe whenlegitimacy agenciesof go haywireSCOTUS.
Metaculus Prediction
There's a 12% chance that an attempt will be made to fire Jerome Powell as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve or his role as Chair of the Federal Open Market Committee before the end of his term, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
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© 2025 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.18.0
© 2025 Improve the News Foundation.
All rights reserved.
Version 6.18.0