The case arises from the firing of a trade commissioner who argues federal law protects her from termination before her term expires.
The Supreme Court said Oct. 17 that it will hear the case about President Donald Trump’s firing of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member on Dec. 8.
The scheduling announcement refers to the case known as Trump v. Slaughter.
The president fired FTC member Rebecca Slaughter on March 18. In a letter explaining the decision, the White House said keeping her in place would be inconsistent with the Trump administration’s priorities.
Trump’s ousting of Slaughter is part of the president’s ongoing effort to remove some personnel from independent federal agencies whose appointees traditionally have been shielded from termination without cause.
Slaughter, formerly chief counsel to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), was first appointed by Trump in 2018 to a seat reserved for Democrats on the FTC and was then reappointed in 2023 by President Joe Biden.
The decision to hear the case came in an unsigned order on Sept. 22 that says the justices will consider whether to overturn Humphrey’s Executor v. United States (1935), which upheld a federal law preventing the president from removing FTC members without cause.
The Supreme Court upheld the firing of Slaughter for the time being and directed the litigants to prepare arguments about whether the statute governing the FTC that prevents removal of its members without cause violates the separation of powers, and if it does, whether Humphrey’s Executor should be overturned.
The separation of powers is a constitutional doctrine that divides the government into three branches to prevent any single branch from accumulating too much power.
The court also directed the parties to prepare arguments about “whether a federal court may prevent a person’s removal from public office.”
U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan had ruled on July 17 that Slaughter’s termination was unlawful because it was barred by the Humphrey’s Executor precedent.
On Sept. 2, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit voted 2–1 to affirm the judge’s ruling allowing Slaughter to remain in her post.
In the D.C. Circuit Court’s ruling, Circuit Judge Neomi Rao dissented, saying the FTC “exercises significant executive power,” and that other factors also favor the government in the case.
