The US Supreme Court temporarily lifted a court injunction blocking US President Donald Trump from firing the only Democrat on the Federal Trade Commission, and agreed to hear a case that could give the executive branch more power to remove officials from independent agencies.
A 90-year-old precedent stops presidents from removing such officials without cause; if SCOTUS overturns it, the White House can fire opponents. It would give Trump, and subsequent presidents, greater power over agencies like the FTC or the Federal Reserve.
It’s part of Trump’s wider effort to concentrate power in the Oval Office: He is also asking SCOTUS to let him fire Fed board member Lisa Cook and is pressuring the Justice Department to go after political enemies.