US Supreme Court vastly expands Trump's presidential powers in landmark ruling

The US Supreme Court ruling significantly expands presidential authority over independent federal agencies and overturns a landmark 1935 precedent that had protected many regulators from being removed at will.

In Short

• US Supreme Court rules Trump can remove FTC members over policy disputes
• Decision overturns 91-year-old precedent protecting agency independence
• Ruling expands presidential control over executive branch agencies

President Donald Trump scored one of the biggest legal victories of his presidency on Monday after the US Supreme Court ruled in his favour. The court said he can fire members of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over policy differences. It significantly expands presidential authority over independent federal agencies and overturns a landmark 1935 precedent that had protected many regulators from being removed at will.

The ruling marks a major shift in the balance of power between the White House and independent government agencies. It also strengthens the US President's control over much of the executive branch, although the court made clear that the decision should not be interpreted as weakening the independence of the US Federal Reserve.

The 6-3 decision split along ideological lines, with the court's conservative majority backing Trump and the three liberal justices dissenting.

COURT OVERTURNS 91-YEAR-OLD PRECEDENT

The case centred on Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic FTC commissioner appointed by former President Joe Biden. Trump dismissed Slaughter in 2025 over policy disagreements, despite a federal law that allowed FTC commissioners to be removed only for reasons such as inefficiency, neglect of duty or misconduct.

The Supreme Court ruled that those protections violate the US Constitution because they limit the US President's executive authority.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said Trump's decision to remove Slaughter "is not a close case."

"The FTC's for-cause removal provision violates the separation of powers," Roberts wrote, as quoted by Reuters.

"In its present form, the FTC enforces and administers some 80 statutes, which cover almost every facet of our Nation's economy. The tasks it undertakes are 'the very essence of execution of the law' -- precisely the president's constitutional role."

The ruling formally overturns Humphrey's Executor v. United States, a 1935 Supreme Court decision that had allowed Congress to protect leaders of certain independent agencies from being dismissed for political or policy reasons.

TRUMP CELEBRATES 'BIG WIN'

Trump quickly welcomed the ruling, calling it one of the most significant decisions on presidential authority in decades.

On social media, he described the judgment as a "BIG WIN."

He said the ruling confirmed "Presidential Power in our Country to remove Executive Branch Officers and Agency Appointees, or Representatives, under Article II."

"This Decision was long sought by United States Presidents, dating all the way back to the 1930s," Trump wrote.

He added that it was "one of the most important ever given with respect to Presidential Powers."

The ruling is a major victory for Trump's long-standing push to expand presidential authority. It reinforces the "unitary executive" theory, which holds that the Constitution gives the US President broad control over the executive branch, including the power to remove officials at independent agencies despite protections enacted by Congress.

JUSTICES WARN OF POWER SHIFT

The court's three liberal justices strongly disagreed with the majority.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, warned that the decision dramatically changes the structure of the federal government.

"Put simply, today the majority reshapes our Government. Dozens of independent commissions are now likely to become purely executive agencies, shifting tremendous power over broad swaths of American life into the president's hands," Sotomayor wrote, as per Reuters.

The dissent also argued that the ruling gives the president "a power unknown even to the English Crown against which the Founders revolted."

Slaughter also criticised the decision after it was announced.

Speaking to CNBC, she said she was disappointed and "shocked when the court overturns a unanimous 91-year-old precedent that has been used to shape so much of our government institutions."

"I think why it really matters is exactly as President Trump said, it is unprecedented," Slaughter said.

"And it hands a massive amount of power away from Congress and to the president to shape economic decision making in a way that will reward the rich and powerful and at the expense of ordinary Americans."

FEDERAL RESERVE REMAINS PROTECTED

While expanding Trump's authority over the FTC, the Supreme Court drew a clear distinction between independent regulatory agencies and the Federal Reserve. In a separate ruling issued the same day, the court refused to allow Trump to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, preserving the central bank's independence.

The justices said the Federal Reserve occupies a unique constitutional and historical position and indicated that Monday's FTC decision should not be viewed as applying to the central bank.

- Ends
With inputs from Reuters