At issue in the dispute over #Trump's dismissals of Cathy Harris from the Merit Systems Protection Board [#MSPB] & Gwynne Wilcox from the National #Labor Relations Board [#NLRB] is whether safeguards passed by #Congress to prevent ofcls in these posts from being fired w/o cause encroach on #PresidentialAuthority set out in the US #Constitution. Harris & Wilcox were appointed by the Republican president's Democratic predecessor Joe #Biden, & both had years left on their terms.

#law #SCOTUS

The cases are being watched as potential proxies for whether #Trump has the #authority to fire #Fed officials, particularly after his recent criticism of #JeromePowell shook #financial #markets & fueled questions about the US central bank's ability to pursue monetary policy free from political interference.

Powell’s term as Fed chief expires in May 2026 unless reappointed. His 14-yr term on the Fed's Board of Governors is set to run through Jan 2028.

#economy #law #SCOTUS

Members of the #Fed's Board of Governors, like the #labor board members, have "for-cause" removal #protections meant to let a president fire them only for reasons such as inefficiency or malfeasance, not policy disagreement.

#Legal experts said that if #SCOTUS decides to eliminate removal protections for the 2 labor boards, it *may try* to create an exception that would insulate #FederalReserve officials like #JeromePowell in a bid to preserve the Fed's #independence.

#economy #law #Trump

#SCOTUS gestured in this direction in a footnote to a 2020 ruling that suggested that the #Fed may be able to "claim a special historical status" entitling it to a greater degree of distance from presidential control than other #independent agencies

Other legal grounds have been offered for why the Fed should be more insulated from presidential control, including an argument by some conservative judges & advocates that the central bank does not wield substantial #ExecutivePower.

#law #Trump

But legal scholars who found the rationales unconvincing said there is no principled reason for treating the #Fed differently than the #labor boards under a series of #SCOTUS rulings that have upheld for-cause protections for agencies.

"If the court carves out a special exception for the #FederalReserve, it will appear that the justices are not applying #ArticleII but legislating from the bench & substituting their personal policy preferences," said Christine Chabot.

#Trump #ActivistCourt #law

@Nonilex

At least 5 SCOTUS justices have no trouble appearing to legislate from the bench (or lie under oath about their willingness to do so)

#CorruptSCOTUS