Roberts Court Overturns Agency Independence Precedent in Federal Reserve Ruling

The Roberts Court has overturned Humphrey's Executor v. Federal Trade Commission, a unanimous precedent from 1935 that allowed agency independence.

The decision was made in Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook, where Chief Justice John G. Roberts relied on historically inaccurate claims about the First and Second Banks of the United States to uphold the Federal Reserve's independence by a 5-4 vote.

Chief Justice Roberts left room for other agency independence, but it is limited and may not protect inferior officers, administrative law judges, or Article II adjudicators.