Supreme Court overturns nearly 100-year-old precedent and expands Trump's power over independent agencies

US President Donald Trump speaks at a rally to kick off the Great American State Fair in celebration of the 250th anniversary of US independence, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., USA, June 24, 2026.
Reuters/Evan Vucci
The Supreme Court of the United States on Monday (29) overturned an almost hundred-year-old precedent and gave permission for President Donald Trump to fire a commissioner from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the independent federal agency that regulates competition in the country.
The decision expands presidential powers over the government and reverses the Court's own 1935 ruling, which had recognized Congress's authority to protect leaders of certain regulatory agencies from presidential removal.
The justices, in a 6-3 decision driven by the court's conservative majority, invalidated tenure protections for FTC members.
Last year, Trump removed Rebecca Slaughter from the FTC due to political differences.
The move was celebrated by Trump: "This decision has been desired by US presidents since the 1930s." on g1
Defeats for Trump
Firing of Fed director
Also on Monday (29), the Supreme Court prohibited Trump from firing the director of the Federal Reserve (Fed), Lisa Cook.
The Republican had announced the director's dismissal last year, increasing pressure on the American BC. If he had succeeded, he would be the first president to dismiss a member of the Fed since its creation in 1913.
Trump announced his resignation in August 2025, but the courts blocked the measure. The White House appealed, and the Supreme Court confirmed the decision this Monday (29).
The decision was close: five ministers voted to block the dismissal, against four in favor.
Votes by mail
The Supreme Court also decided to support state laws that allow ballots sent by mail and received after Election Day to be counted in the midterm elections, scheduled for November.
The decision represents a defeat for Trump.
The judges, also by five votes to four, overturned a lower court's ruling that had found a Mississippi law incompatible with U.S. rules that set the timing of federal elections - for the Presidency, the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Sexual abuse and defamation case
The Supreme Court further rejected an attempt by Trump to overturn a 2023 jury decision that found he sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll and later defamed her.
The justices ruled refused to analyze the US president's appeal and confirmed the decision issued by a lower court in 2024.
In practice, with the decision and appeals exhausted, Trump will now have to pay US$5 million - the equivalent of R$25.8 million - to the writer.

Source: G1