Trump v. Slaughter · ¶192

The one “‘[d]ecision’” that emerged from this debate was that “a congressional role in the removal process was rejected.” Bowsher v. Synar, 478 U. S. 714, 723 (1986). To be clear on this, given the majority’s elliptical treatment of what took place in the summer of 1789, here is what actually happened: The bill the House initially debated provided that the head of the Department of Foreign Affairs would “be removable by the President.” 1 Annals of Cong. 370–371. Madison and his allies at first argued that this language should be “retain[ed] . . . in the bill” because it was “explanatory of the meaning of the Constitution” (that is, they thought it confirmed the President’s power to remove), id., at 464 (Madison), while the other camps opposed this language. Several days later, however, Madison and his allies “reversed course,” arguing that the language they originally favored might…

slip opinion, revised 7/07/26
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