On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court dropped a bombshell in Trump v. Slaughter. In a 6-3 decision, the Court ruled that President Trump can fire officials at independent agencies like the FTC (and by extension the FCC, FDA, and dozens of others) without needing “cause.” Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, a Democratic FTC commissioner, got the boot because her views didn’t align with the administration’s priorities. The old 1935 Humphrey’s Executor precedent (which had shielded these “independent” bureaucrats) is now toast.

Chief Justice Roberts wrote: Agencies that exercise executive power are under the President’s control. Period. Subordinates who wield the President’s power are removable by the President.

This is huge. For decades, unaccountable bureaucrats in alphabet agencies have operated like their own little fiefdoms — making rules, enforcing them, and rarely answering to the people who actually elected the boss. Trump just got handed the keys to the executive branch— the way the Constitution always intended.

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The Cook Case: A Fractured Decision

At the same time, the Court handed down a separate 5-4 ruling in the Trump v. Cook case involving Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Here the justices blocked Trump’s attempt to immediately fire her (at least for now, on procedural grounds).

Notice the split:

Slaughter (FTC): 6-3 ideological lines → President wins big on removal power.

Cook (Fed): 5-4 → Narrow carve-out for the Federal Reserve because of its unique role in monetary policy.

The Court drew a line: Most independent agencies? Fair game. The Fed? Special snowflake treatment… for now.