President Donald Trump scored a major constitutional victory Monday after the Supreme Court ruled that presidents have broad authority to remove officials leading independent federal agencies, dramatically expanding executive power and overturning a legal precedent that had stood for more than 90 years.

Reacting to the decision, Trump hailed the ruling as one of the most significant victories for presidential authority in American history.

“BIG WIN just moments ago at the Supreme Court, in the Slaughter Case, confirming Presidential Power in our Country to remove Executive Branch Officers and Agency Appointees, or Representatives, under Article II,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The president went on to describe the 6-3 decision in emphatic terms.

“Historic and Unprecedented,” adding that it was “one of the most important ever given with respect to Presidential Powers.”

Trump also celebrated the ruling as a personal milestone for his presidency.

“It is such an Honor to be the sitting President who won this Historic and Unprecedented Ruling,” Trump wrote. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

At the heart of the case was Trump’s dismissal of Democrat Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter in March 2025 over policy disagreements. On Monday, the Supreme Court concluded that the firing was lawful, overturning its 1935 decision in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, which had long restricted a president’s ability to remove certain independent agency officials without cause.

According to Reuters, the ruling wipes away statutory job protections Congress enacted more than a century ago for FTC commissioners and substantially strengthens the president’s authority over executive branch personnel.

Before the Supreme Court intervened, lower federal courts had ruled in Slaughter’s favor, relying on the 1935 precedent that permitted Congress to insulate leaders of independent agencies from dismissal except for reasons such as neglect of duty or misconduct.

The Supreme Court rejected those rulings, holding that Article II of the Constitution grants the president broader constitutional authority to supervise and remove executive branch officials.

The decision is viewed as a major endorsement of the “unitary executive” theory, which has been championed by the Trump administration. That constitutional view maintains that executive power is vested in the president, who must have the ability to remove officials exercising executive authority.

Reuters noted that the justices emphasized their ruling should not be read as applying to the Federal Reserve, which the Court described as occupying a unique historical position distinct from other independent agencies.

The Federal Trade Commission is one of more than two dozen independent federal agencies whose commissioners have traditionally been protected by statutes limiting a president’s removal power.

Legal observers say the ruling could extend well beyond the FTC, potentially affecting agencies such as the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board, whose members have likewise enjoyed statutory protections against dismissal.

During oral arguments, the Court’s liberal justices expressed concern that expanding presidential removal authority would undermine Congress’ longstanding goal of having politically independent experts oversee areas such as labor policy, consumer protection, and financial regulation.

The conservative majority, however, accepted the Trump administration’s position that the modern FTC exercises significant executive authority and therefore falls within the president’s constitutional power to direct and oversee the executive branch.

The ruling stands as one of the Court’s most consequential decisions on executive power in decades and marks another significant legal triumph for President Trump and his administration.

{Matzav.com}