Supreme Court Precedent in Flux
In recent years, the Supreme Court has chipped away at protections for independent agencies.
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2020: Seila Law v. CFPB – The court ruled that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s director could be fired at will.
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2021: Collins v. Yellen – The justices extended that ruling to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) leadership.
While these rulings applied to single-director agencies, conservative justices have hinted at an interest in dismantling Humphrey’s Executor altogether, potentially exposing all independent regulatory bodies to White House control.
Trump’s termination letter directly referenced these decisions—but Slaughter and Bedoya argue that the FTC’s multimember structure makes it fundamentally different from the CFPB or FHFA.
The Road Ahead
As the lawsuit unfolds, the fate of the FTC—and possibly the entire concept of independent federal agencies—hangs in the balance.
Slaughter and Bedoya are represented by:
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Protect Democracy Project Inc. (Benjamin L. Berwick, Amit Agarwal, Beau Tremitiere, Jared F. Davidson)
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Clarick Gueron Reisbaum LLP (Aaron Crowell, Gregory A. Clarick, David Kimball-Stanley)
Legal counsel for the Trump administration was not immediately available for comment
