One big victory for Trump and three defeats in the Supreme Court

Nearly 100 years ago, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt did not have the unfettered power to replace commissioners at regulatory agencies set up by Congress to exclude the president.

On Monday, facing a challenge from Republican Trump, the court decisively struck down that precedent.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that “subordinate officers who exercise the power of the President may be removed from office.” “Then and only then can they remain accountable to the president, and the president to the people.”

In this decision, the judges of the court were divided into the usual group. All six conservatives, three appointed by Trump, have the president’s endorsement. The three liberal justices appointed by Democrats disagreed.

The court’s decision gives Trump and future presidents broad powers to remove and replace regulators from dozens of key agencies with whom they disagree.

The Federal Trade Commission discussed this issue directly (as did Roosevelt), but the precedent set by the Court here applies to regulatory bodies that interpret election laws, establish communications policies, resolve labor disputes, and establish financial and environmental regulations.

These days, Americans enjoy dramatic policy changes every time a president of a different political party takes over the presidency — from Barack Obama to Trump to Joe Biden and back to Trump. This court decision is sure to upend that trend.

“Ninety years of precedent have been completely and unequivocally overturned,” Trump said in a Truth Social post after the decision, “drastically increasing presidential power when it’s needed most!”