Andrew Hsu

Yeah, well, this case started with the firing of Rebecca Slaughter.

She was a Democratic commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission.

That's the independent agency tasked with protecting consumers from unfair competition.

And back in March, she got an email from the White House informing her that she was being removed from office, not because of any wrongdoing.

but because her continued service was inconsistent with President Trump's priorities.

She sued, saying the president can't fire her because federal law clearly states that FTC commissioners can only be removed for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.

No, and the lower court agreed that she couldn't be fired.

The judge cited a 1935 Supreme Court decision called Humphrey's Executor.

In A, that case involved an FTC commissioner who was fired by FDR over policy disagreements.

So the court ruled unanimously that the president has no constitutional power to remove the commissioner for reasons unresolved.

other than those allowed by law.

The reason they said was because the FTC's duties are not purely executive in nature, but actually predominantly judicial and legislative.

Well, in short, because the Trump administration thinks the Supreme Court got it wrong back in 1935, they argue that the FTC wasn't just doing judicial and legislative work, that it did exercise executive power back then and far more so today.

And they say the Constitution spells out clearly that the president holds all the executive power.

Yes, he relies on officers who assist him, including at independent agencies like the FTC, but he must be able to remove those among them who stand in his way.

Otherwise, how could he be accountable to the people who elected him?

I spoke with James Burnham about this earlier this fall.

He's an attorney who's served in both Trump administrations.

Well, Slaughter takes issue with the administration's reading of the Constitution.

Here's what she told me last week.