Trump's firings of federal officials set stage for next presidential power test

The Supreme Court's recent decision to remove removal protections for Federal Trade Commission members has expanded presidential power, allowing the president to fire officials from certain independent boards and commissions at will. This ruling clears the path for further tests of presidential authority.

As the high court considered the legality of shielding federal officials from political pressure, legal challenges related to President Trump's efforts to dismiss various federal employees, including Justice Department lawyers, immigration judges, and FBI agents, have progressed through the federal court system. These ongoing cases are poised to become the next significant test of presidential power.

Legal scholars suggest these cases have substantial implications for civil service protections, which have been in place since the late 1970s, and for the federal workers they cover. "The question of whether we can have a civil service staffed by individuals who are selected and retained based on their expertise, qualifications and employment performance, rather than the political ideology of the president is the entire foundation of our modern system of administrative governance," noted Nicholas Bednar, a University of Minnesota law professor.

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The question of whether we can have a civil service staffed by individuals who are selected and retained based on their expertise, qualifications and employment performance, rather than the political ideology of the president is the entire foundation of our modern system of administrative governance

Since the start of his second term, Trump has pursued extensive efforts to reshape the federal government. His plans included downsizing the executive branch, resulting in the termination of over 25,000 government workers during their probationary periods and the implementation of mass layoff plans. For hundreds of other civil servants, classified as "inferior officers" or employees, the president has invoked Article II of the Constitution to bypass civil service laws, asserting his executive power to remove them without cause.

The firings of these federal officials are now on a trajectory toward the Supreme Court. The Federal Circuit is scheduled to hear arguments this fall in a case brought by two former immigration judges, Megan Jackler and Brandon Jaroch, who were terminated in February 2025. The court's decision to hear the case with its full bench indicates the dispute's significance. "This is the case that is going to go to the Supreme Court to test this issue," Bednar said, referring to the president's power to remove federal employees without cause.

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This is the case that is going to go to the Supreme Court to test this issue