A US court has temporarily reinstated a commissioner for the nation’s top competition watchdog that Donald Trump sought to fire, escalating a legal battle over the limit of presidential powers.
In a 2-1 ruling, the court of appeals for the District of Columbia circuit held that a lower court’s decision to reinstate Rebecca Slaughter must be enforced while the appeals process continues. Slaughter is the only remaining Democratic commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission.
“The government has no likelihood of success on appeal given controlling and directly on point Supreme Court precedent,” wrote the majority. It referred to the 1935 decision, Humphrey’s Executor vs United States, that upheld a law prohibiting the removal of FTC commissioners unless it was for cause, malfeasance or neglect of duty.