Trump wins one, loses one as Supreme Court rules on federal firing powers

The United States Supreme Court delivered contrasting verdicts on Monday, both related to President Donald Trump's authority to fire certain federal employees. The court ruled that Trump could not immediately fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook in a 5-4 ruling. On the same day, it also approved his removal of Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Kelly Slaughter in a 6-3 ruling. In the Cook case, the court's liberals joined the majority, while the other case saw a split along ideological lines, as per NBC.

Both verdicts were issued at the same time and authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, who was the only one other than Justice Brett Kavanaugh to be in the majority in both cases. In the Cook case, Chief Justice Roberts rejected Trump's reason for firing her: that she could not remain in office while contesting allegations of mortgage fraud that could not be reviewed in court. "To accept any of those arguments would in effect transform the Federal Reserve's for-cause protection into at-will employment," Roberts wrote. Democrats have praised the verdict.

The Chief Justice also stated that such a verdict would be "out of step with the statute Congress enacted and our nation's tradition of central banking protected from political interference." In a statement released after the verdict, Cook claimed that Trump's decision to remove her from office had nothing to do with alleged mortgage fraud. "This was never about mortgage documents signed years before I became a Federal Reserve governor. It was an attempt to remove me on a manufactured pretext because I refused to bow to political pressure and continued to set interest rates based only on what would best serve the American people," she wrote.

"Today's ruling affirms a principle that has underpinned sound economic stewardship for generations: that the Federal Reserve must make all its policy decisions guided by evidence and independent judgment, free from political interference," she added. President Trump, meanwhile, announced on Truth Social that the verdict was procedural, meaning that Cook could not be fired temporarily only. "We will take appropriate action immediately to make sure that someone who has committed wrongdoing will not be making vital decisions," he added.

Trump was much happier with the Slaughter verdict, calling it a monumental decision. The country's top court overturned a 1935 Supreme Court ruling called Humphrey's Executor v. United States, which upheld restrictions on the President's power to remove FTC members. President Trump hailed the decision in the Slaughter case in a post on Truth Social, stating that the decision was "long sought" by U.S. Presidents since the 1930s.

"It is such an Honor to be the sitting President who won this Historic and Unprecedented Ruling, one of the most important ever given with respect to Presidential Powers," he added. In a subsequent post, he claimed that it was the "Greatest Increase in Presidential Power in the last 100 years," and called it a "Monumental Ruling." Democrats have criticized the ruling, with Rep. Don Beyer claiming that it gave Trump "greater control over independent agencies and commissions, inviting further presidential abuse of power."