WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court for an emergency order to oust board members who oversee independent agencies, as a constitutional fight about presidential power plays out.
The quick appeal to the high court follows a ruling two days earlier in which a divided appeals court in Washington restored two board members to their jobs for now. They were separately fired from agencies that deal with labor issues, including one with a key role for federal workers as President Donald Trump aims to drastically downsize the workforce.
The immediate issue confronting the justices is whether the board members can stay in their jobs while the larger fight continues over what to do with a 90-year-old Supreme Court decision known as Humphrey’s Executor. In that case from 1935, the court unanimously held that presidents cannot fire independent board members without cause.
The ruling has long rankled conservative legal theorists, who argue it wrongly curtails the president’s power. The current conservative majority on the Supreme Court already has narrowed its reach, in a 2020 decision.
Soon the high court could narrow it further or jettison it altogether.