The Supreme Court of the United States appeared ready on Monday (08/12/2025) to support Donald Trump in expanding presidential powers and restricting the independence of federal agencies.
The case before the Supreme Court centers on the firing of Rebecca Slaughter, the Democratic commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Slaughter was fired by the president in March without good reason. In the first instance, the courts agreed with him, finding that his firing violated the rules Congress had adopted to protect members of independent government agencies.
At Monday’s oral arguments before the conservative-dominated Supreme Court, the majority of justices appeared to favor the Trump Justice Department’s arguments.
Attorney General John Sauer asked the justices to overturn a 1935 ruling that had blocked then-President Franklin Roosevelt from removing an FTC member.
uncontrollable power
In its mission to protect consumers, the FTC has made decisions against Apple, Amazon, Google and Meta, which are accused of abusing their market dominance.
The court’s liberal minority questioned the Trump administration’s efforts in the case. Justice Elena Kagan asserted that if she rules, “the president will be granted unchecked power.”
In this sense, Justice Sonia Sotomayor assured that we are required to “destroy the current structure of government.”
In defense of the president’s arguments, Sauer asserted that independent agencies “evade any political responsibility or democratic control.” He added: “They don’t have bosses.”
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on this case by June 2026.
gs (afp, dpa)
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