U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily allowed President Trump’s firing of a commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to move forward on Monday as the Supreme Court considers Trump’s emergency appeal.
Trump is attempting to fire FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter without cause despite federal law preventing him from doing so.
The administration contends the law is unconstitutional, asserting an expansive view of presidential power that could prompt the Supreme Court to overturn what remains of its 90-year-old precedent upholding such removal protections.
Roberts issued the temporary, administrative stay because he handles emergency appeals arising from the nation’s capital by default.
His order contained no explanation, as is typical, and it does not necessarily indicate how the court will decide the case. Roberts ordered Slaughter’s lawyers to respond in writing by next Monday.
In the meantime, it adds more whiplash for Slaughter, a Democrat appointed to the FTC in 2018 whom Trump purported to fire in March.
A federal district judge reinstated Slaughter in July. Days later, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit allowed her firing to move forward temporarily as it considered the administration’s bid for an indefinite pause.
The D.C. Circuit rejected the bid in an order Tuesday, reinstating Slaughter once again and spurring the administration’s Supreme Court plea.
Slaughter’s lawyers had cautioned Roberts against the temporary intervention.
“Applicants identify no harm that will result from Commissioner Slaughter’s continued service while their stay application is pending,” they wrote in court filings.
