On Dec. 5, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a split decision finding President Trump acted lawfully in firing two Democratic members of independent agencies – Gwynne Wilcox, a former National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member, and Cathy Harris, a former Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) member. President Trump fired Wilcox and Harris within weeks of taking office, sparking considerable debate over the White House’s power and the degree to which Congress affords agencies autonomy. 

Initially, lower courts found the two agency heads' removal unlawful, citing a 1935 Supreme Court decision known as Humphrey's Executor v. United States. This 90-year-old decision held that while the president has the authority to remove purely executive officers without cause, agencies whose duties "are neither political nor executive, but predominantly quasi-judicial and quasi-legislative" are not subject to the same at-will removal.

Judge Gregory Katsas authored the majority opinion, finding “Congress may not restrict the President’s ability to remove NLRB and MSPB members” on the grounds that the agencies “wield substantial powers that are both executive in nature and different from the powers that Humphrey’s Executor deemed to be merely quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial.”

While the Friday decision marked a loss for the former NLRB and MSPB officials, more warning signs emerged for agency autonomy. On Monday, Dec. 8, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Trump v. Slaughter, a mammoth case in which SCOTUS will consider whether to overrule Humphrey’s Executor. Similar to Wilcox and Harris, Rebecca Slaughter was fired without cause from her role as commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) near the start of the Trump administration.

Throughout oral arguments, the justices exhibited varying degrees of reluctance to overrule Humphrey’s Executor, with some exploring ways in which the Court could narrow, rather than overrule, the precedent. Regardless, Justices Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett appeared sympathetic to U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer’s arguments regarding President Trump’s power to fire FTC commissioners. While there is uncertainty whether Humphrey’s Executor will get the axe, Slaughter’s bid for reinstatement will likely not survive the Supreme Court’s impending decision.

In short, the D.C. Circuit and Supreme Court gave a preview of the White House’s growing influence on federal labor enforcement agencies and similar administrative bodies. From a labor relations perspective, what this means practically is that we could see new administrations get quicker changes to labor law via the NLRB, as a sitting president may be able to create vacancies and then seek a majority much faster than they have in the past. With a decision in Trump v. Slaughter expected next summer, 2026 is shaping up to be yet another unprecedented year in this space. Stay tuned for more updates.