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Donald Trump removed FTC commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya in March 2025. They argued that federal law and the Supreme Court’s 1935 decision in Humphrey’s Executor barred removal without cause. On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court reversed the lower-court judgment and held that the FTC’s for-cause removal provision violates separation of powers. The commissioners’ filing was their claim at the start of the case—not the outcome that controls now.
Why did the FTC commissioners sue Trump?
After Trump notified Slaughter and Bedoya that they had been removed, effective immediately, the two Democratic commissioners challenged the removals in court. In its March 27, 2025 report, Ars Technica described their suit and the legal position they advanced at filing.
Their argument relied on the FTC Act, which allows removal of a commissioner for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office,” and on Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, a 1935 Supreme Court decision they said protected FTC commissioners from removal outside those grounds. Their complaint put the claim plainly: “A President cannot remove an FTC Commissioner without cause.” That was the plaintiffs’ position, not a Supreme Court ruling on the case.
The commissioners asked the district court to declare the removals unlawful and to stop FTC officials from preventing them from performing their duties. They described their aim as vindicating “their right to serve the remainder of their respective terms.” Those were requested remedies in their filing, not findings by a court.
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How did the case change between the lawsuit and the Supreme Court decision?
| Stage | What happened | Source and significance |
|---|---|---|
| March 2025 | Slaughter and Bedoya sued after Trump notified them they had been removed. | Ars Technica’s March 27, 2025 report describes the removals and the commissioners’ original legal arguments. |
| District court | The district court granted Slaughter relief. | The Supreme Court’s opinion summarizes the lower-court history. |
| June 29, 2026 | The Supreme Court reversed and remanded the judgment. | The opinion states the Court’s holding; the official docket records the disposition. |
The sequence matters: the district court’s relief did not remain the final word. The Supreme Court’s later decision controls the legal dispute described in the 2025 complaint.
What did the Supreme Court decide in Trump v. Slaughter?
In Trump v. Slaughter, No. 25-332, the Supreme Court held that the FTC’s for-cause removal provision is contrary to the separation of powers. Its June 29, 2026 judgment reversed and remanded the lower-court judgment. The opinion and docket are the primary records of that decision and its procedural disposition.
That holding rejects the statutory protection at the center of the commissioners’ original challenge. It should not be confused with their March 2025 assertion that Humphrey’s Executor required cause for their removal: that was the plaintiffs’ theory when they sued, while the Supreme Court later held the FTC provision unconstitutional.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the ruling does—and does not—establish
The case resolves the dispute over the FTC’s for-cause removal provision. The opinion’s holding should be described at that scope. The available case materials do not establish every consequence for other independent agencies, nor do they settle all questions about how the decision may affect agency structure more broadly.
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For readers following the FTC, the practical point is that the commissioners’ lawsuit did not secure a lasting bar to their removal under the provision they invoked. The operative legal result is the Supreme Court’s June 2026 holding, not the claims made in the complaint a year earlier.
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