Trump v. Slaughter · ¶38

Early Presidents of all persuasions, too, hewed to the Decision of 1789. Washington saw it as his “indispensable duty” to remove officers who failed to live up to his expectations. 36 Writings of George Washington 216 (1941). His Cabinet agreed, taking the stance that the ability to “remove from office” was “an essential attribute of Executive Power.” 20 Papers of George Washington: Presidential Series 355, 357, n. 2 (D. Hoth & W. Ferraro eds. 2019). The first President Adams said the same. See 20 Papers of John Adams 150–151 (S. Georgini et al. eds. 2020) (noting his support for “the President[’s] Power of Removal, according to the Constitution”). So did Jefferson. See 4 Papers of Thomas Jefferson, at 281 (the power to “remov[e] executive officers [is] inherent in [the] Executive”). So did Madison. See 2 Papers of James Madison 192 (D. Mattern, J. Stagg, M. Johnson, & A. Colony eds.…

slip opinion, revised 7/07/26
Source edition
Passage preview. Read in context for the complete text, notes and references.