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The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily ruled that former President Donald Trump may remove President Biden’s three appointees to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) without cause, weakening long-standing limits on presidential power. Reported by NPR, the decision undermines nearly a century of precedent meant to preserve the independence of regulatory agencies.
The Court compared the CPSC to the National Labor Relations Board, noting both exercise executive power. Justice Brett Kavanaugh stated he would have preferred a full hearing later this year. However, the Court’s liberal justices—Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson—dissented sharply, criticizing the use of the emergency docket to expand executive authority.
Justice Kagan warned the ruling erodes Congress’s power to design independent agencies, saying the Court acted “with little time, scant briefing, and no argument.” The decision directly challenges Humphrey’s Executor (1935), which limited presidential removals of independent officials. Biden’s commissioners had sued after Trump attempted to dismiss them before their terms expired. The broader constitutional question remains unresolved pending further review.
