Supreme Court Allows Trump to Fire FTC Member for Now

The high court will hear the case in December and reconsider a decades-old precedent that limits who Trump can fire.

Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter participates in a privacy roundtable at CES 2020 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. on Jan. 7, 2020. Photo by David Becker/Getty Images

The Supreme Court on Sept. 22 temporarily upheld President Donald Trump’s authority to fire Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member Rebecca Slaughter, and announced it will hear a challenge to a 90-year-old precedent limiting that authority.

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.