Washington, June 29 -- The US Supreme Court has significantly expanded presidential authority over independent federal agencies, ruling that President Donald Trump was entitled to remove the heads of most such bodies without having to provide a reason, though it made an exception for the Federal Reserve.
In a landmark decision on Monday, the court overturned much of its 1935 ruling in Humphrey's Executor v United States, which had protected members of independent regulatory agencies from dismissal without cause in an effort to shield decision-making from political influence.
The case centred on former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, whom Trump removed despite a federal law allowing commissioners to be dismis...