Supreme Court Exempts Fed from Trump’s Power to Remove Agency Heads

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President Trump may remove certain independent agency leaders while legal challenges proceed—but not those at the Federal Reserve, easing market fears about Fed independence, Barron’s Daily reported.

The ruling does not explicitly prevent Trump from removing Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

The unsigned order supported Trump’s emergency request to remove appointees at agencies such as the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board.

But it notably excluded the Fed, labeling it a quasi-private institution with unique protections.

The ruling does not explicitly prevent Trump from removing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom he appointed during his first term, but it implies the central bank’s leadership is more shielded than other independent agencies.

The Court's conservative majority warned of risks posed by unelected commissioners limiting presidential authority, while liberal justices criticized the move as a step toward dismantling long-standing limits on executive power.

The court appears poised to revisit Humphrey’s Executor v. U.S., the 1935 decision that protects independent agency heads from arbitrary dismissal.