The Supreme Court seems likely to back Trump’s power to fire independent agency board members

WASHINGTON AP The Supreme Court on Monday seemed likely to expand presidential control over independent federal agencies signaling aid for President Donald Trump s firing of board members The court s conservative majority suggested it would overturn a -year-old decision that has limited when presidents can fire agencies board members or leave it with only its shell intact Chief Justice John Roberts referred to the decision known as Humphrey s Executor as a dry husk Lawyers for the administration are defending Trump s decision to fire Federal Pact Commission member Rebecca Slaughter without cause and calling on the court to jettison the unanimous decision in Humphrey s Executor The court s six conservative justices already have signaled strong encouragement for the administration s position over the objection of their three liberal colleagues by allowing Slaughter and the board members of other agencies to be removed from their jobs even as their legal challenges continue Members of the National Labor Relations Board the Merit Systems Protection Board and the Consumer Product Safety Commission also have been fired by Trump The only administrators who have so far survived efforts to remove them are Lisa Cook a Federal Reserve governor and Shira Perlmutter a copyright official with the Library of Congress The court has suggested that it will view the Fed differently from other independent agencies and Trump has announced he wants her out because of statements of mortgage fraud Cook says she did nothing wrong A second question in the Slaughter matter could affect Cook Even if a firing turns out to be illegal the court wants to decide whether judges have the power to reinstate someone Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote earlier this year that fired employees who win in court can likely get back pay but not reinstatement That might affect Cook s ability to remain in her job The justices have seemed wary about the economic uncertainty that might outcome if Trump can fire the leaders of the central bank The court will hear separate arguments in January about whether Cook can remain in her job as her court challenge proceeds Roberts has written a series of opinions dating back to that have steadily whittled away at laws restricting the president s ability to fire people In Roberts wrote for the court that the President s removal power is the rule not the exception in a decision upholding Trump s firing of the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau despite job protections similar to those upheld in Humphrey s matter In the immunity decision that spared Trump from being prosecuted for his efforts to overturn the voting results Roberts included the power to fire among the president s conclusive and preclusive powers that Congress lacks the authority to restrict The court also was dealing with an FTC member who was fired by President Franklin Roosevelt in who preferred his own choice at an agency that would have a lot to say about the New Deal William Humphrey refused Roosevelt s request for his resignation After Humphrey died the next year the person charged with administering his estate Humphrey s executor sued for back pay The justices unanimously upheld the law establishing the FTC and limiting the president to removing a commissioner only for inefficiency neglect of duty or malfeasance in office