US DOJ claims tenure protection for regulatory commissions unconstitutional News
ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
US DOJ claims tenure protection for regulatory commissions unconstitutional

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Wednesday that it will no longer defend the independent status of three key consumer and worker protection agencies. The announcement came in a letter by Acting Solicitor General Sarah M. Harris and addressed to Sen. Dick Durbin (III.). The agencies affected are the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Citing Article II of the Constitution, the announcement maintained that the US president enjoys an “unrestricted power of removing executive officers,” whom the president appointed and the Senate approved.

Prior to the DOJ’s announcement, the agencies enjoyed statutory tenure protections. This ensured their independent decision-making powers and shield them from political considerations. In other words, the president could remove them from their office except for specific reasons such as neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.

This was rooted in the US Supreme Court 1935 ruling in the case of Humphrey’s Executor v. United States. The court held that the Constitution of the United States had never given “illimitable power of removal” to the president in the case of bodies created by Congress to perform quasi-legislative and judicial functions.

Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris also wrote that the department intends to urge the Supreme Court to overrule the decision in Humphrey’s executor, which marks a significant shift in the federal government’s approach to these agencies, and the result of this could have far-reaching consequences for the regulatory landscape in the US.

This comes as part of sweeping changes brought in by the Trump administration ever since taking office in January. This also comes just days after the Trump DOJ asked a court to lift the order limiting DOGE access to treasury systems and after the US DOJ halted all ongoing and future civil rights litigation. Further, the US federal appeals court rejected the Trump administration’s request to resume the spending freeze and the latest comes after the acting US Attorney General fired DOJ employees involved with prosecuting President Trump.

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