Washington, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that would allow President Donald Trump to fire the leaders of independent federal agencies without cause. In response, Michael Sozan, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:
Today’s radical decision shatters the independence of critical federal agencies and weakens their ability to protect the health, safety, and economic well-being of Americans. This ruling, which overturns nearly a century of well-settled law, allows the president to exert undue political pressure over government agencies that Congress designed to be insulated from such coercion.
Independent agencies are supposed to protect consumers from dangerous products, unfair labor practices, financial fraud, and a host of other harms that are too important to be subject to the political whims of the White House. Under this ruling, the guardrails against corruption and unfair interference by President Trump are further eroded, putting millions of Americans at risk.
For more information or to talk to an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at [email protected].