Appeals court orders reinstatement of FTC commissioner ousted by Trump

A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., ruled Tuesday in a 2-1 split decision that Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) appointed by former Democratic President Joe Biden, should be reinstated to her post after being removed by President Donald Trump last March.

The ruling, backed by two judges appointed by former President Barack Obama, resets the decision of a lower court that deemed Slaughter's dismissal illegal, explaining that federal law only allows for the removal of FTC commissioners in cases of "inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office."

Judges Patricia Millett and Cornelia Pillard, appointed by Obama, sided to reinstate Slaughter. Meanwhile, Judge Neomi Rao, a Trump appointee, sided against it.

Judges Millett and Pillard argued that a 1935 Supreme Court precedent known as Humphrey's Executor established limits on presidential power over the FTC.

"Over the ensuing decades — and fully informed of the substantial executive power exercised by the Commission — the Supreme Court has repeatedly and expressly left Humphrey's Executor in place, and so precluded Presidents from removing Commissioners at will," they wrote. "To grant a stay would be to defy the Supreme Court's decisions that bind our judgments. That we will not do."

Instead, Judge Rao dissented and argued that courts should not interfere with presidential authority while such litigation is ongoing.

In his conclusion, Rao said the court should "follow the Supreme Court's conclusion that an injunction reinstating an officer the President has removed harms the government by intruding on the President's power and responsibility over the Executive Branch."

Although Slaughter's case, for now, represents a judicial setback for the Trump administration, many legal scholars argue that the Supreme Court is very likely to overturn Humphrey's Executor precedent. Indeed, this situation is not isolated, as the president has sought to oust several Biden-appointed federal agency leaders, including members of the Federal Reserve. The high court has upheld his authority to remove various officials from other agencies deemed independent.

The bottom line is that the appeals court upheld the ruling of U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan, also a Biden appointee, who had already ruled in July that Slaughter's firing was illegal. Now, with the current ruling, the commissioner will be able to return to her post while waiting for the White House to appeal again, until the case ends up in the Supreme Court.