A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., ruled Tuesday that Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, a Biden appointee, can return to her post—for now—despite being removed by President Donald Trump as part of his broader effort to rein in independent agencies.
In a 2-1 decision, the panel said Trump’s firing of Slaughter violated Supreme Court precedent, specifically the 1935 Humphrey’s Executor v. United States ruling, which limits a president’s ability to remove FTC commissioners without cause.
“The government has no likelihood of success on appeal given controlling and directly on point Supreme Court precedent,” the panel wrote, adding that “bucking such precedent is not within this court’s job description.”
The ruling allows Slaughter to resume her position immediately, though the Trump administration is expected to appeal either to the full D.C. Circuit or the Supreme Court. A Department of Justice spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the government plans to challenge the order.
Slaughter had previously been reinstated by a district judge in July, only to be removed again when the appellate court temporarily blocked that decision. Tuesday’s order lifted that pause.
Judge Neomi Rao, a Trump appointee, dissented, writing that “the balance of equities here is ultimately indistinguishable” from similar disputes where the Supreme Court has allowed Trump’s firings to stand temporarily. DOJ attorneys also argued that the panel’s action undermines presidential authority.
“The court’s reinstatement of a principal officer of the United States—in defiance of recent Supreme Court precedent staying similar reinstatements in other cases—works a grave harm to the separation of powers and the President’s ability to exercise his authority under the Constitution,” government lawyers wrote.
At the center of the dispute is whether the high court will ultimately revisit Humphrey’s Executor. Conservative legal scholars have suggested the current Court may be prepared to narrow or overturn that precedent, which has long shielded independent agencies from direct presidential control.
Slaughter, for her part, celebrated the decision, saying she plans to return to work Wednesday.
“Amid the efforts by the Trump admin to illegally abolish independent agencies, incl the Federal Reserve, I’m glad the court has recognized that he is not above the law,” she wrote on social media. “I’m eager to get back first thing tomorrow to the work I was entrusted to do on behalf of the American people.”
Political judges must be stopped. This is utterly illegal. Usurping presidential power is what this amounts to. Unelected judges are making laws themselves and stopping presidential power. How fare is this going to go? The SC must start the process of punishing these politicial judges who are far out of their own boundaries on what they should be doing!