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The Supreme Court of the United States issued two historic and contradictory rulings this Monday that redefine the balance of power between President Donald Trump and independent federal institutions: it significantly expanded presidential authority to dismiss heads of regulatory agencies, but at the same time blocked Trump's attempt to remove a governor of the Federal Reserve.
The first ruling, in the case Trump v. Slaughter, overturns a 91-year precedent set in 1935 with Humphrey's Executor v. United States, which allowed Congress to protect certain executive officials from arbitrary dismissal.
With that decision, the court determined that the protections of immovability granted to commissioners of agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) violate the separation of powers, contradicting Article II of the Constitution, which grants all executive power to the president.
The Court itself acknowledged in its ruling that it was overturning decades of institutional practice by concluding that the three branches of government had been in "open defiance of the Constitution" by allowing such protections for almost a century.
Senator Chuck Schumer harshly condemned the decision, characterizing it as a "license" for Trump to turn independent agencies into "private clubs for his friends and associates."
However, the same court blocked the president in a second ruling, this one by a vote of five to four, determining that Trump cannot dismiss Lisa Cook, the governor of the Federal Reserve and the first African American woman to serve on its board.
The court established that announcing Cook's termination through the social network Truth Social does not constitute an adequate legal notification nor does it give him the opportunity to contest the charges against him, which violates due process.
Trump had attempted to remove Cook since August 2025, alleging mortgage fraud following a criminal referral made by Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, who indicated that Cook had listed two primary residences simultaneously on mortgage documents.
Cook's lawyers dismissed the accusations, describing them as based on a "misleading reference" in a 2021 document that was "clearly innocuous," with no fraud or intent to deceive of any kind.
The Federal Reserve Act stipulates that its governors can only be removed "for just cause," a safeguard specifically designed to shield the central bank from political influence. This legally distinguishes the Fed from other independent agencies whose protections relied on now-overturned precedents.
This impeachment attempt is the first in the 112 years of history of the Federal Reserve in which a president seeks to remove one of its governors.
The double ruling comes amid a broader offensive by the Trump administration against institutional independence. In February 2025, Trump signed an executive order requiring independent regulatory agencies —including the SEC, the FTC, the FCC, and the NLRB— to submit their regulatory proposals for review and approval by the White House.
In January 2026, the administration also launched a criminal investigation against then-Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell, for alleged irregularities in renovation works on the central bank's buildings; that investigation was closed in April 2026 without charges.
The new president of the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, took office on May 22, 2026, confirmed by the Senate with 54 votes in favor and 45 against, while Trump publicly stated that he wanted him to act with "full autonomy," in apparent contradiction to his history of pressuring the central bank.
Cook will remain in his position while the case proceeds in the lower courts, representing, for now, the clearest limit that the judicial system has imposed on the expansion of Trump's executive power.
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