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Lawyers for President Donald Trump's administration will make arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in a push to overturn a 90-year-old decision limiting when presidents can fire board members on Monday (December 8), the Associated Press reports.
The attorneys will defend Trump's decision to fire Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter without cause and call on the nation's highest court to abandon the unanimous 1935 Humphrey's Executor v United States decision. The court's majority six conservative justices have already shown strong support of the Trump administration's position, allowing Slaughter and board members of other agencies to be removed from their jobs despite the ongoing legal challenges.
Trump has also fired members of the National Labor Relations Board, the Merit Systems Protection Board and the Consumer Product Safety Commission since his second of two non-consecutive administrations began in January, while Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve governor, and Shira Perlmutter, a copyright official with the Library of Congress, are the only officials who have survived efforts of removal so far. The Supreme Court has suggested that it will view Cook's case differently from independent agencies as Trump has accused her of committing allegations of mortgage fraud, which she's publicly denied.
A second question in the Slaughter case could have an affect on Cook as the court decides on whether judges will have the power to reinstate a fired official. Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was appointed by Trump during his first administration, had previously written that fired employees who win in court can likely receive back pay but not reinstatement earlier this year.