Individuals and businesses regulated by independent federal agencies may find immediate changes in agency leadership following a May 22, 2025, ruling by the United States Supreme Court.
In its ruling, the Court allowed President Trump to remove leaders at independent federal agencies while those leaders litigate the constitutionality of their removal. In doing so the Supreme Court cemented the primacy of the President’s power to remove officials exercising executive authority, subject only to narrow exceptions that now (in many, if not all cases) must be litigated fully before they can be applied.
Regulated parties may now find that leadership at their regulators are replaced promptly by the President, who in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling may expect that no removal will be obstructed unless former agency leaders’ challenges reach the Supreme Court.
The Court did not decide the merits of the specific case before it, Trump v. Wilcox, which concerns leadership at the Merit Systems Protection Board and the National Labor Relations Board. The eventual decision on the merits may temper the future effect of the May 22 ruling by cementing exceptions to the President’s removal authority. The decision could instead expand the President’s removal powers over Congressionally-protected federal agencies by further narrowing already-narrow removal protections. Regardless of the ultimate opinion, the May 22 ruling restrains the lower courts’ ability to enjoin allegedly-unconstitutional firings, and accordingly expands the President’s authority to align all federal agencies to his policy goals.
