Andrea Hsu

But it faces long odds in the Senate.

So far, only one Senate Republican has signed on as a co-sponsor.

The bill only got to the House floor thanks to some procedural wrangling that forced a vote.

Andrea Hsu, NPR News.

Good morning.

Yeah, well, the FTC is one of a couple dozen government agencies that share a similar structure.

You know, these are regulatory agencies, typically with three or more members representing both parties who are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

And Congress dictated that the president can only fire members for cause for things like neglect of duty or malfeasance.

And Amit Agarwal was representing the fired FTC commissioner in court.

He argued this setup has a long history dating back to the beginning of the republic.

That's right.

They seem concerned that the separation of powers has gotten murky.

You know, it seems like everyone agreed that independent agencies like the FTC and many others are not purely executive in function.

Their board members and commissioners make rules and decide cases.

Their actions affect people and businesses all over the country.

And Solicitor General John Sauer, who was representing the Trump administration, argued that's why it's a problem that they're not accountable to the president.

Well, Layla, they took the opposite view of pretty much the same facts.

Let's listen to Justice Kagan.

And Justice Sotomayor said that the administration is asking the court to destroy the very structure of government and take away from Congress this idea that some agencies are better off independent.

Of course, Leila, you know, with the current makeup of the court, it's hard to see how that independence will stand.