The Supreme Court has declined to review arguments that the president should have more power to fire top brass at independent agencies such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Right-leaning nonprofit Consumers’ Research had asked the justices to reconsider whether the president must have cause to remove a member of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which — like FERC — is led by multiple commissioners. The Supreme Court on Monday rebuffed the group’s request without explanation.
The petition, Consumers’ Research v. CPSC, had argued that the restrictions on the president’s firing authority violated the separation of powers between the branches of government. The request had received support in “friend of the court” briefs from parties including the Cato Institute, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Louisiana’s Republican attorney general and close to a dozen GOP legislators.
“The Court’s decision to decline to hear Consumers’ Research is disappointing to those of us worried about ‘independent agencies’ quietly claiming the president’s executive powers,” said Brent Skorup, a legal fellow at the Cato Institute, in an email.
