John Roberts just invented a fantasy game -and he knows it

Key Points:

• The Supreme Court recently issued several last-minute decisions before the summer recess, with a mix of rulings favoring and opposing former President Trump, reported with a tone of balanced outcomes that frustrated the author.
• Chief Justice Roberts authored the majority opinion in a 6-3 decision allowing the president to fire Federal Trade Commission members at will, arguing the president needs officers he can "trust," a rationale the author strongly criticizes.
• The author contends that the independence of multi-member commissions like the FTC is essential for public trust, and removing protections against arbitrary dismissal undermines that independence and trust.
• The decision is viewed as prioritizing the president’s power over democratic accountability, reflecting a judicial philosophy focused more on the framers’ intentions and theoretical purity than on contemporary democratic realities.
• The author likens the Court’s approach to a detached, elitist game that disregards real-world consequences, warning that concentrating firing power in the president’s hands falsely assumes it fosters trust rather than enabling autocratic control.