Supreme Court ruling raises White House control over regulators, creating new risk for SEC and CFTC crypto plans
A June 29 decision said President Donald Trump could remove FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, overturning Humphrey’s Executor and raising questions about independent agencies, while comments cited in the report said the Federal Reserve would continue carrying out its mandate.
A June 29 U.S. Supreme Court ruling has increased presidential influence over some regulators, raising fresh questions for the SEC and CFTC as they pursue crypto-related rulemaking and oversight. The court said President Donald Trump could remove FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, rejecting statutory limits that had allowed FTC commissioners to be fired only for cause and overturning Humphrey’s Executor, the 1935 precedent that had shielded some independent agency officials from at-will removal. The shift may increase legal and policy risk for regulatory agendas that depend on agency independence, including crypto enforcement and market supervision. The report also cited Kevin Warsh as saying the Federal Reserve would continue to uphold its mandate after the Cook ruling, suggesting the central bank remains insulated for now even as broader tensions over executive authority and agency autonomy intensify.
- Humphrey’s Executor: A 1935 U.S. Supreme Court precedent that limited a president’s ability to remove certain independent agency commissioners before being overturned in the June 29 ruling.
- FTC: The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, an antitrust and consumer protection regulator.
- CFTC: The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which oversees derivatives markets.