Justice Department asks Supreme Court to allow Trump to fire FTC commissioner

Source: NBC News

Sept. 4, 2025, 4:45 PM EDT


WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to allow President Donald Trump to fire a Federal Trade Commissioner without cause in another full-frontal attack on the concept of independent federal agencies.

The request is a direct challenge to a 1935 Supreme Court precedent that upheld limits on the president's ability to fire FTC commissioners without cause, a restriction Congress imposed to protect the agency from political pressure.

In March, Trump sought to fire two Democratic commissioners, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya. Both challenged the move, although Bedoya later dropped out of the case. Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued in the latest court filing that the FTC wields more power now than it did when it was founded, which strengthens Trump's hand in seeking to control it via his presidential powers under Article 2 of the Constitution.

"In this case, the lower courts have once again ordered the reinstatement of a high-level officer wielding substantial executive authority whom the President has determined should not exercise any executive power, let alone significant rulemaking and enforcement powers," Sauer wrote. He also asked the court to fast-track consideration of the case, skipping over any further lower court proceedings.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/trump-ftc-commissioner-fired-rcna229174