The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday granted another major win to President Donald Trump, authorizing his administration to remove three Democratic members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The decision marks Trump’s 16th consecutive victory before the High Court since taking office in January.
Why It Matters
The 6-3 conservative-majority Court has repeatedly sided with President Trump on key emergency docket cases involving the executive branch. Wednesday’s ruling is the latest in a string of decisions advancing Trump’s agenda, including curbing federal regulatory powers, tightening immigration enforcement, rolling back protections for transgender individuals, and removing independent government watchdogs.
The Ruling
The Court granted the Justice Department’s emergency appeal to overturn a lower court ruling that had reinstated the three ousted CPSC commissioners. The DOJ argued that, as head of the executive branch, the president holds broad authority to remove agency officials—even from semi-independent commissions.
The three liberal justices—Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson—dissented, aligning with U.S. District Judge Matthew Maddox’s earlier ruling that the dismissals were unlawful. Maddox, a Biden appointee, had emphasized that the CPSC plays a critical, nonpartisan role in protecting consumers and was intended by Congress to function with some insulation from presidential control.
A Blow to Longstanding Legal Precedent
Justice Kagan’s dissent was particularly pointed, warning that the majority’s unsigned decision effectively guts the landmark 1935 precedent Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, which limited presidential authority to remove members of independent federal agencies. While the precedent hasn’t been formally overturned, Kagan argued the Court’s actions through the so-called “shadow docket” are slowly eroding it.
“On a short fuse, without benefit of full briefing and oral argument, the majority has effectively expunged Humphrey’s from the U.S.,” Kagan wrote.
She cautioned that the ruling facilitates the steady consolidation of power within the executive branch.
Reactions
- Justice Elena Kagan, in dissent: “This Court may facilitate the permanent transfer of authority, piece by piece by piece, from one branch of Government to another.”
- Samuel Breidbart, constitutional scholar at NYU’s Brennan Center: “SCOTUS continues to use the shadow docket to transform American government. Today, the Court allowed President Trump to fire three more independent agency commissioners—this time from the CPSC—despite Congress’s clear intent.”
- Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) wrote on X: “The CPSC assures that families and children, homes and businesses, are protected from defective, dangerous products. Dismantling this independent, bipartisan agency—as Trump seeks—is a dire disservice.”
- House Committee on Small Business, in support: “@HouseSmallBiz applauds the SCOTUS decision to uphold @POTUS’s termination of now-former CPSC Commissioner [Richard] Trumka. This is a win for small businesses burdened by his regulatory overreach.”
What’s Next
The ruling may pave the way for President Trump to remove additional members of independent agencies. A related case—concerning the firing of a Federal Trade Commission member, the very agency at the heart of Humphrey’s Executor—is also expected to reach the Supreme Court soon. If the Court maintains this trajectory, it could fundamentally reshape the balance of power between Congress and the executive branch for decades to come.
