Trump v. Slaughter · ¶3

Held: The FTC’s for-cause removal provision is contrary to the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution. Pp. 2–36. (a) The Constitution vests “[t]he executive Power” in a “President of the United States of America” and instructs that he “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” Art. II, §§1, 3. To vest the executive power in one person was to establish a hierarchy—a “Chief Magistrate” with whom the buck stops, and below him various “assistants or deputies” who “derive their offices from his appointment” and remain “subject to his superintendence.” The Federalist No. 72, p. 436 (A. Hamilton). To remain accountable to the President, those officers must be removable by the President. Pp. 4–13. (1) The idea that one President would be in charge was by no means a foregone conclusion in 1787. The flurry of state constitutions that followed the Declaration of Independence…

slip opinion, revised 7/07/26
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