Supreme Court Turbocharges Presidential Power

Key Points:

• The Supreme Court issued two contrasting decisions on executive power last month, both authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, sparking a joke among law professors about the differing tones of the opinions.
• In Trump v. Slaughter, the Court ruled that the president can remove leaders of independent agencies for any reason, overturning statutes that required cause, signaling a significant expansion of presidential power.
• Trump v. Cook carved out an exception for the Federal Reserve, limiting the scope of the president’s removal power in that context, creating a notable inconsistency between the two rulings.
• The Slaughter decision reflects a broader trend of the Court’s conservative majority endorsing a robust executive branch, similar to the 2024 ruling in Trump v. United States that granted President Trump substantial immunity from prosecution.
• These rulings highlight a sharp division within the Court and underscore Chief Justice Roberts’s pivotal role in shaping the modern understanding of presidential authority.