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The Supreme Court has granted the sitting president the right to fire the heads of most independent federal agencies, overturning a 90-year-old precedent. However, the justices placed limits on the president's power over the Federal Reserve, reaffirming that the central bank must remain protected from political interference.
It's a bittersweet victory that the Supreme Court handed Donald Trump with its rulings on the limits of presidential power. On the one hand, the president won the right to fire the heads of most independent federal agencies.
On the other hand, the judges placed a clear limit on his attempt to exert control over the Federal Reserve (Fed), reaffirming the independence of the Central Bank.
One of the most closely watched issues concerned the dismissal of Lisa Cook, a member of the Fed's Board of Governors, appointed by Joe Biden in 2022 with a term until 2038.
The decision was expected as an important test to understand how far a Supreme Court with a conservative majority was willing to expand Trump's powers, especially after in February it declared unconstitutional the customs tariffs he had imposed based on the national emergency law.
By five votes to four, the Supreme Court ruled that Cook's dismissal was unconstitutional, ruling that the president cannot remove a member of the Fed Board without a lawful cause.
In its reasoning, the Supreme Court emphasizes that “the Federal Reserve must remain insulated from political pressures.” Chief Justice John Roberts emphasized that “not only actual independence, but also the perception of independence is essential to the functioning of the Federal Reserve.”
In another decision with major institutional ramifications, the Supreme Court handed Trump a significant victory. By a vote of six to three, it ruled that the president has the right to fire the heads of independent agencies and commissions, overturning a court precedent that had limited this power for nearly nine decades.
The case involved Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, who was fired from her position as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) via an email, with the Trump administration arguing that her tenure was “incompatible with the administration’s priorities.” According to the majority of judges, independent status cannot be used for institutions that exercise significant executive powers.
The decision was strongly opposed by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who was joined by Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan. In her dissenting opinion, Sotomayor warned that the decision “transfers into the hands of the president extraordinary power over large parts of American life,” giving him powers “not even the British Crown, against which the Founding Fathers rebelled, enjoyed.”
Meanwhile, Trump suffered losses in two other politically significant cases. In the case of mail-in voting, the Supreme Court rejected requests from Republicans and the Trump administration, allowing states to continue counting ballots mailed in on time but arriving after Election Day.
This system is already in place in more than a dozen U.S. states. The judges argued that while Congress sets a single date for elections, it has not set a national deadline for mail-in ballots, leaving that power to the states.
The decision was seen as a major victory for Democrats, who have supported this form of voting for years. "If a citizen votes within the stipulated deadline, their vote should be counted," said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.
The latest blow for Trump was even more personal. The Supreme Court refused to reopen a civil case involving writer E. Jean Carroll, upholding a 2023 New York jury verdict that found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation of her.
As a result, Trump's obligation to pay Carroll $5 million in damages remains in effect, an amount he had hoped to avoid through an appeal to the Supreme Court./ Pamphlet from "La Stampa"
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Zot RUAJE NJERZIMIN MONSTRA si DONALD TRUMP!!! Nentor 3/2026 Fack you Donald Trump!! Bashke me Edvinqenef Ramen!!!