In a sudden intervention, Chief Justice John Roberts issued a temporary stay allowing President Trump to keep a Democratic appointee off the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) while the legal battle over her firing unfolds.
- The commissioner, Rebecca Slaughter—appointed under the previous administration—had briefly returned to her position after a lower court ruled her removal violated statutory protections that permit dismissal only for inefficiency, neglect, or misconduct.
- The appeals court upheld that decision, ordering her reinstatement. But Roberts’s stay stalls that outcome, keeping the seat vacant as the Supreme Court weighs the broader constitutional question.
This case challenges the nearly century-old precedent that shields independent agency officials from arbitrary removal, marking a pivotal test of presidential authority over such entities.