Supreme Court Casts Doubt on Future of Independent-Agency Heads

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision allowing the president to fire at will the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opens the door to future challenges against leaders of other independent federal agencies, especially if the court becomes more conservative, legal scholars said.

The court’s decision in Seila Law v. CFPB limited but didn’t overturn its 1935 ruling in Humphrey’s Executor, giving cover to bipartisan, independent agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, National Labor Relations Board, Federal Communications Commission, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The majority opinion of the divided court drew a crucial distinction between ...