The Daily Fuckup

The Supreme Court heard oral argument on December 8, 2025, in Trump v. Slaughter, a case that asks the justices to revisit the rules that have long limited when presidents can remove some leaders of independent federal agencies. The Court’s own calendar, transcript archive and audio posting all identify the argument as taking place that day.

The dispute centers on President Donald Trump’s effort to remove Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter without cause. The legal fight reaches beyond one commissioner. It puts Humphrey’s Executor, the 1935 precedent that has protected certain multimember agencies from at-will firing, back in front of the Court and asks how much insulation Congress can give regulators from direct presidential control.

The hearing did not produce a decision. Any read on where the justices may be headed comes from argument-day analysis, not from a ruling. The transcript and audio provide the official record of the exchange, but they do not themselves resolve the case.

A decision for the administration could narrow or unsettle removal protections for some independent agencies. A decision to leave existing doctrine in place would preserve the current limits, at least for now. The case matters because the answer could affect how far the presidency can reach into agencies that oversee competition, consumer protection and parts of the financial system.

The justices took the case under submission after the December 8 argument. The question now is not what happened in court that day, but whether the Court uses the case to redraw a boundary that has stood for decades.