Trump v. Cook · ¶55

Perhaps recognizing the Government’s bind, JUSTICE THOMAS would simply discard the rule announced in Reagan and Shurtleff as “a single line of dicta.” Post, at 20. A single line, yes; dicta, no. Reagan and Shurtleff could hardly have been clearer about “the rule” they applied— that (to repeat once more) “notice and hearing are essential” if “the term of office is for a fixed period.” Reagan, 182 U. S., at 425; Shurtleff, 189 U. S., at 314. Thus (as JUSTICE THOMAS emphasizes) the officers in Reagan and Shurtleff ultimately lost, because neither one enjoyed a fixed tenure. Reagan, 182 U. S., at 426; Shurtleff, 189 U. S., at 316. That does not make the rule “dicta.”

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