The U.S. Supreme Court issued an emergency ruling allowing President Donald Trump to fire two Democratic-appointed members of federal agencies, overturning a lower court decision that had briefly restored them. While granting Trump this short-term victory, the justices declined to fast-track full review of the dispute, saying the question of permanent removal should wait for full briefing and argument. As the case returns to the D.C. Circuit for regular consideration, both the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) will continue operating without the quorum needed to perform several essential functions.
In its unsigned opinion, the Court emphasized that allowing removed officials to continue exercising executive power posed a greater risk than temporarily sidelining them during litigation. Solicitor General D. John Sauer had warned that without emergency intervention, Trump could be forced to rely on officials he sought to dismiss for months or years, creating what he called “irreparable harm” to presidential authority. The dispute is widely expected to return to the Supreme Court, which decades ago upheld limits on presidential removal power but has gradually weakened those protections in recent years.
The administration is urging the Court to narrow those constraints further—or overturn the older precedent entirely—arguing for near-total presidential control over the Executive Branch. In dissent, the three liberal justices accused the majority of enabling Trump to override legal precedent “by fiat,” warning that the ruling signaled a sweeping expansion of presidential power. The case echoes earlier political battles, including President Joe Biden’s dismissal of numerous Trump appointees upon taking office, some of which also prompted legal challenges that ultimately failed.