Supreme Court Expands Presidential Removal Power, Carves Out Federal Reserve
The rulings draw a constitutional line between independent agencies and the central bank, a distinction that could reshape executive authority over federal regulators for years.
The Supreme Court issued rulings on June 30, 2026, affirming the President's authority to remove officials at several independent federal agencies while simultaneously blocking, at least temporarily, President Trump's attempt to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, according to reporting by Bloomberg News and CBS News. The Court's decisions address the longstanding legal tension between presidential removal power and congressional statutes that limit when agency heads can be fired.
The Fed carve-out is legally significant. The Federal Reserve operates under a statutory framework distinct from many other independent agencies, and the Court's order blocking Cook's removal — characterized by Bloomberg as temporary — suggests the justices are treating the Fed's independence as a separate constitutional question. The specific legal basis for the injunction has not been fully detailed in publicly available Court records as of this writing; the operative order and any accompanying opinion would be found in the Supreme Court's official docket.
For other independent agencies, the rulings appear to extend the executive branch's removal authority, building on the Court's 2020 decision in Seila Law v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, in which the Court held that single-director independent agencies could not limit the President's removal power. The precise agencies named in the 2026 rulings and the vote breakdown are not yet confirmed in the publicly released opinions; the full text of each decision is available through the Supreme Court's official website at supremecourt.gov.
CBS News chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford noted the rulings carry broad implications for how the executive branch can structure oversight of federal regulators. The practical effect for affected agency heads — including their ability to resist termination — depends on the specific statutory language governing each agency, details that would be confirmed in the Court's written opinions and the relevant enabling statutes in the U.S. Code.
What remains unknown: the full list of agencies covered by the expanded removal authority, the precise vote count and authorship of the majority opinion, and the timeline for the Court's final ruling on Federal Reserve governor removability. Those facts would be confirmed by the published slip opinions on supremecourt.gov and any subsequent lower-court filings in the Cook matter.