Trump v. Slaughter · ¶35

By this point, the arguments made by the third group will sound familiar. Madison led the charge. “I conceive that if any power whatsoever is in its nature Executive,” and thus vested in the President, “it is the power of appointing, overseeing, and controlling those who execute the laws.” Ibid. And if that is so, he explained, then the “power of removal from office” must follow. Id., at 499. For it is only with that power that “the chain of dependence [can] be preserved”— “the lowest officers, the middle grade, and the highest” made to “depend, as they ought, on the President, and the President on the community.” Ibid. Others agreed. Some focused on text. “[T]he power of removal [is] an Executive power,” Representative George Clymer said, “and as such belong[s] to the President alone, by the express words of the Constitution.” Id., at 382. Others focused on structure. “The Constitution…

slip opinion, revised 7/07/26
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