The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that former President Donald Trump may, for now, remove President Joe Biden’s appointees to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) without having to provide a specific reason.
The decision marks a departure from long-standing legal protections that have traditionally insulated independent regulatory agencies from direct political interference. It follows a trend in recent rulings by the Court that expand presidential authority over federal agencies.
According to NPR, the Court determined that the CPSC wields executive power similar to that of agencies like the National Labor Relations Board, which allows the president broader discretion in leadership appointments and removals.
In a concurring opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh acknowledged that while he agreed with the outcome, he would have preferred the case be heard more fully during the Court’s regular term.
The Court’s three liberal justices—Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson—dissented. In a joint opinion, they criticized the majority’s use of the emergency (or “shadow”) docket to decide such a weighty constitutional issue. Justice Kagan warned that the ruling risks shifting power away from Congress and further consolidating it in the executive branch.
