General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIMPORTANT: Trump got SCOTUS certiorari to remove "independent" from U.S. Independent Agencies.
Trump will try to get SCOTUS to remove the independent agency status of the FTC. If they allow him with the FTC, he'll go after all the others.He will solidify his dictatorship and oligarchy by running
-- election outcomes,
-- money,
-- banking,
-- mail,
-- intelligence,
-- NASA,
-- international trade,
-- nuclear controls,
-- and science in general.
His oligarchs will line up to become the new heads of those executive agencies.
Just in time for his throne room.

The courts 6-3 decision is the courts strongest signal yet that it may overturn Humphreys Executor v. U.S., a 90-year-old ruling that until recently largely protected independent agencies from undue political interference stemming from the White House.
In addition to granting Trumps request to a stay lower court ruling reinstating FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, the court also said it will hear oral arguments in December on officially overturning Humphreys.
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/supreme-court-trump-democratic-ftc-commissioner-dismissal/
The majority, stay order by stay order, has handed full control of all those agencies to the President, Justice Elena Kagan wrote in her dissent. He may now remove so says the majority, though Congress said differently any member he wishes, for any reason or no reason at all. And he may thereby extinguish the agencies bipartisanship and independence.
In 1935, the justices ruled that President Franklin D. Roosevelt could not fire a board member of the FTC, William Humphrey, simply because he opposed the presidents New Deal policies. Congress had stipulated that members could only be fired for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance. The case is known as Humphreys Executor v. United States.
The current Supreme Court has all but overturned that precedent in recent rulings. The justices allowed Trump to fire Democratic members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission in July and members of the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board in May. Trump gave no reasons for the officials dismissals, despite statutes saying they could only be removed for cause.
https://archive.ph/5MaI6#selection-581.0-629.123
... The degree to which the president has the power to use executive orders to set policy for independent executive agencies is disputed.[4] Many orders specifically exempt independent agencies, but some do not...
In 1935, the Supreme Court in the case of Humphrey's Executor v. United States decided that although the president had the power to remove officials from agencies that were "an arm or an eye of the executive", it upheld statutory limitations on the president's power to remove officers of administrative bodies that performed quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial functions, such as the Federal Trade Commission.[1]...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_agencies_of_the_United_States_federal_government
Look at what trump and oligarchs can take over by Executive Order if SCOTUS overturns Humphreys:
Amtrak
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI),
Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB)
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
Election Assistance Commission (EAC)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
ExportImport Bank of the United States (EXIM)
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Federal Election Commission (FEC)
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)
Federal Maritime Commission (FMC)
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS)
Federal Reserve System
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
General Services Administration (GSA)
International Trade Commission (ITC)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
National Credit Union Administration (NCUA),
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
National Science Foundation (NSF)
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
Office of Special Counsel (OSC)
Peace Corps
Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC)
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Selective Service System (SSS)
Small Business Administration (SBA)
Social Security Administration (SSA)
Surface Transportation Board (STB)
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA),
United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
United States Postal Service (USPS)
United States Trade and Development Agency
THESE AGENCIES' INDEPENDENCE WERE ESTABLISHED BY CONGRESS, GET IT?

If SCOTUS allows this, they will kill democratic elections and democracy.











cilla4progress
(26,449 posts)I always (heretofore) thought of the Supremes as our final bastion of protection of our civil rights.
Can't even wrap my head around it. John Roberts is a broken and lost man.
ancianita
(42,002 posts)
AZJonnie
(1,636 posts)With the stroke of 5 pens, the SCOTUS can effectively END DEMOCRACY IN THE USA as we know it, and turn it into a LITERAL dictatorship. And they've decided to hear arguments to do so.
This is NOT hyperbole in ANY way.
ancianita
(42,002 posts)In time for the 2026 election outcomes to be controlled through the FEC and EAC, not to mention the US Postal Service and David Steiner, who is a lawyer from the state of California -- that in itself means CA might have to lead the vote count fight for mail in ballots.
The FEC administers and enforces the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), which imposes limits and prohibitions on campaign contributions and expenditures. When potential violations are detected through complaints, audits, or referrals, the FEC has the exclusive authority to conduct civil investigations and enforce compliance.
Then the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to improve the administration of elections can
Change guidance and standards for election equipment and procedures.
As a clearinghouse for election administration information, change that information.
Change its accrediting voting system test laboratories and change certifying voting systems.
Selectively administer federal funds provided to states for complying with election requirements.
In 2026 all the dictator has to do is make the calls to those three agencies, not to governors, and not to Congress. Democrats in the House and Senate will have to make serious contingency plans to fight him in court.