The Supreme Court on Wednesday sided with President Donald Trump, ruling that he can remove members of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), an agency designed by Congress to function independently of political interference.
In an unsigned emergency order, the justices blocked a lower court ruling that had reinstated Mary Boyle, Alexander Hoehn-Saric, and Richard Trumka Jr.—three commissioners appointed by former President Joe Biden. The decision effectively leaves the CPSC without a functioning quorum, paralyzing the agency’s ability to enforce consumer protections.
By law, CPSC commissioners serve staggered seven-year terms and can only be removed for “neglect of duty or malfeasance.” But Trump fired them anyway, as part of his broader initiative to reshape the federal bureaucracy. The Supreme Court’s latest order builds on earlier decisions this year that allowed him to dismiss members of other independent agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board.
The Court said Wednesday’s decision was “squarely controlled” by those prior rulings, continuing its trend of invalidating long-standing limits on presidential removal power.
Liberal Justices Dissent
As in past cases, the Court’s three liberal justices dissented. Justice Elena Kagan sharply criticized the ruling, writing, “Once again, this court uses its emergency docket to destroy the independence of an independent agency, as established by Congress.”
Lower courts had previously cited Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, a landmark 1935 case that upheld protections for members of independent agencies. Although that precedent has not been formally overturned, the Court has steadily chipped away at it in recent years. Notably, in 2020, the justices ruled that the president could remove the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and in 2021 extended that reasoning to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Agency Turmoil
Trump fired the CPSC members in May. The following month, U.S. District Judge Matthew Maddox ordered their reinstatement, and the trio resumed their duties while litigation played out. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to pause Maddox’s ruling—until the Supreme Court stepped in.
The CPSC, created by Congress in 1972, is tasked with protecting Americans from dangerous or defective consumer products. To maintain its independence, Congress required that no more than three of the five commissioners belong to the same political party and that all members be confirmed by the Senate. The law also restricted the president’s ability to fire them without cause.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that reinstating the commissioners created “chaos and dysfunction,” claiming they were actively reversing decisions made during their absence.
Attorneys for Boyle, Hoehn-Saric, and Trumka countered that allowing Trump to remove them again would only deepen the instability. They said their actions were necessary to “undo unlawful measures” taken while they were improperly excluded from their roles.
Now, with the Supreme Court’s blessing, Trump can continue replacing CPSC members with allies more aligned with his administration’s deregulation agenda. The decision is likely to have ripple effects across other independent agencies as well.
