Supreme Court rules Trump cannot fire Fed member Lisa Cook; grants him more power over other independent agencies
Source: NBC News
June 29, 2026, 10:21 AM EDT / Updated June 29, 2026, 10:27 AM EDT
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday delivered a setback to President Donald Trump, rejecting his attempt to fire Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook, while in a separate case giving him a freer hand to exert control over other hitherto independent federal agencies.
The two decisions, issued at the same time and both authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, together marked another example of the conservative-majority court pushing back on one aspect of Trump’s broad exertion of executive power while giving him the green light on another. Though Trump may not fire Cook for now, the court allowed him to remove a member of the Federal Trade Commission, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter.
In the latter case, the court overturned a key 1935 Supreme Court ruling called Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, which upheld restrictions on the president’s power to fire FTC members. The court in effect created a Federal Reserve exception to its general view — long-favored by conservatives suspicious of what some term a federal bureaucratic “deep state” — that restrictions on the president’s power to fire members of federal agencies imposed by Congress were an unconstitutional restriction of executive authority.
So, while Cook can remain in office for now, the court granted Trump free rein to continue firing members of agencies that were specifically set up by Congress to be free of political interference. The court concluded that the Federal Reserve is different from other independent agencies, in part based on its unique structure and history.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-rules-trump-cannot-fire-fed-member-lisa-cook-grants-powe-rcna234931
Links to ORDERS (PDF)
Cook: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25a312_5468.pdf
Slaughter: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25-332_qn12.pdf
Article updated.
Original article -
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Monday delivered a setback to President Donald Trump, rejecting his attempt to fire Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook, while in a separate case giving him a freer hand to exert control over other hitherto independent federal agencies.
The two decisions, issued at the same time and both authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, together marked another example of the conservative-majority court pushing back on one aspect of Trump's broad exertion of executive power while giving him the green light on another. Though Trump may not fire Cook for now, the court allowed him to remove a member of the Federal Trade Commission, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter.
The court in effect created a Federal Reserve exception to its general view -- long-favored by conservatives suspicious of what some term a federal bureaucratic "deep state" -- that restrictions on the president's power to fire members of federal agencies imposed by Congress were an unconstitutional restriction of executive authority.
So, while Cook can remain in office for now, the court granted Trump free rein to continue firing members of agencies that were specifically set up by Congress to be free of political interference. The court concluded that the Federal Reserve is different from other independent agencies, in part based on its unique structure and history.
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