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Chapter 9 · Who the President Can Fire
Page 2 of 2 in this chapter
From the page before
Where does the Constitution say how to remove most federal officials?
The answer: It does not say
Why: The text covers hiring. For removal it names only impeachment. For everyone else it is silent, so the courts have had to answer.
What did Trump v. Slaughter (June 29, 2026) decide?
The answer: That the President may fire such board members at will, overruling Humphrey's Executor
Why: A 6 to 3 Court held that officials who carry out the law answer to the President. It overruled the 1935 case that let Congress shield them.
That case was about the Federal Reserve, the bank that sets interest rates. The Court left its protections in place. It pointed to a long history of keeping money policy apart from politics. It said that if this is to change, Congress must change it, not the courts.
What is still not settled
Some questions are open. We say so plainly, because they are.
The Court did not decide whether the Federal Reserve member in that case can be fired for cause. That fight goes on in a lower court.
It did not decide what happens to lower-level staff. Most federal workers have job rules of their own. The Court said it was not ruling on them.
It did not list every board this touches. Many agencies are built the same way. Which ones fall under the new rule will be worked out case by case.
Why this matters to you
An agency writes rules you live under. Food labels. Airline refunds. Workplace safety. Who can fire the people who write those rules shapes what the rules say.
For 91 years the answer was: not the President, not without cause. Since June 29, 2026, for most such boards, the answer is: yes, at will.
We are not telling you if that is good or bad. That is your call. We are telling you what the rule was, what it is now, and what no one has settled yet.
Two meanings of one word
"Independent agency" is used two ways. Mixing them up is easy.
One meaning is about the org chart. The agency does not sit inside a cabinet department. The CIA is independent in that sense.
The other meaning is about firing. Congress wrote a rule saying the President needs a cause. The old FTC was independent in that sense.
The 2026 ruling changed the second kind. It did not change the first. An agency can still stand outside a department and be run by someone the President may fire at will.
Before you turn the page
Which body kept its removal protections that same day?
Trying to recall a thing before you read it again is what makes it stick. That is why the question is here.
Nothing is scored. Nothing is saved. No one sees your answer, and there is no account to make.