It was long coming --

by omahadomer, Wednesday, July 01, 2026, 16:17 (21 days ago) @ domer.mq

the case upholding the constitutionality of limitations on removal of agency principals was Humphrey's Executor and honestly it wasn't a masterpiece of constituitonal reasoning. In 1935, FDR and the Supreme Court were at war and the case was probably mud in FDR's eye.

That said, a whole edifice got built on it. There are at least a dozen what used to be "independent" agencies -- the FTC, the NLRB, the EEOC, the SEC, etc. -- that had members appointed on a staggered basis and only removable for cause. So, an incoming Democratic president might be looking at an NLRB with a majority GOP board members and nothing he could do about it right away.

The idea is that the agencies were supposed to be "expert" and relatively insulated from political pressure. Empirically, it's not clear that was true.

So a President can remove every member of the NLRB, SEC, etc. that he doesn't like.

I'd say this will put a lot of pressure on the confirmation process. They still need to be confirmed by the Senate and the filibuster is in place. Winning the Senate, always a priority, is really a priority now.

I co-authored an amicus brief on Cook's side. The Supreme Court's differential treatment of the Fed is disingenuous, but pragmatically necessary to keep monetary policy away from the president.

--
"Somewhere in Middle America"