Ilhan Omar Arrested – Refused to Leave and Fought Police

The three justices appointed by Democratic presidents dissented publicly. “By means of such actions, this Court may facilitate the permanent transfer of authority, piece by piece by piece, from one branch of Government to another. Respectfully, I dissent,” wrote Justice Elena Kagan, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

The ruling reinforces the Trump administration’s aggressive push to dismantle removal protections for members of independent agencies, challenging a 90-year-old Supreme Court precedent that allowed Congress to create such safeguards. The CPSC commissioners, appointed by former President Joe Biden, were dismissed earlier this year. Trump offered no justification for their removal, even though federal law grants independent agency officials “for-cause” removal protections.

Under federal law, CPSC commissioners can only be removed by the president for “neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.” Similar protections apply to a few other federal agencies and are ostensibly designed to shield them from direct political influence by the White House.