Former FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter Talks Supreme Court Ruling

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Former FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter Talks Supreme Court Ruling

Podcast: Bloomberg Talks
Host: Bloomberg Interviewer and Host
Guest: Rebecca Kelly Slaughter (Former FTC Commissioner)
Date: June 30, 2026

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Overview

This episode centers on the Supreme Court’s recent landmark decision regarding presidential authority to remove independent regulatory commissioners at will. Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, former FTC Commissioner at the heart of the case, discusses its ramifications for the balance of power between Congress, the presidency, and independent federal agencies. The conversation covers historical context, nonpartisan implications, consequences for agency function, and recommendations for legislative oversight.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Supreme Court Decision & Its Impact

• Summary: President Trump called the ruling “the biggest and most consequential decision issued by the court,” stating it returns “tremendous additional power back to the presidency.”
  • Slaughter’s View: She fully agrees, but expresses deep concern over the ruling’s effects.
  • Quote: “It is a massive transfer of power from Congress to the President and it's a transfer that transforms these agencies... into instruments of the powerful and of the executive.” — Rebecca Kelly Slaughter [01:01]

2. Historical Nonpartisanship & Agency Structure

• Summary: Slaughter recalls that the precedent overturned (the Humphrey’s Executor case) originally protected a conservative, pro-business Republican targeted by FDR. She likens agency commissions to corporate boards designed for independent oversight.
  • Quote: “These boards and commissions... were set up by Congress with a similar structure to make sure that their decisions were in the best interest of the shareholders of the American government, the taxpayers, and not just to benefit the executive.” — Rebecca Kelly Slaughter [02:46]

3. What’s Lost If President Controls All Appointments?

• Summary: The loss of bipartisan debate and consensus would undermine agency output, deliberation and continuity.
  • Experience: Slaughter recounts her bipartisan experience at the FTC—nominated by both Republican and Democratic administrations.
  • Quote: “There is enormous benefit... from having a leadership structure that requires you to engage with people from different political perspectives... and that quality of debate... is absolutely lost if we move to agencies that are just going to swing wildly one way or the other.” — Rebecca Kelly Slaughter [03:44]

4. Broader Consequences Beyond Leadership

• Summary: The ruling threatens the integrity of the career civil service and long-term government expertise built to benefit the public, not just political appointees.
  • Quote: “If the principle that the court articulated... holds, it also decimates the civil service... or any of the sort of career expertise that we have over centuries worked to build up in our government...” — Rebecca Kelly Slaughter [04:41]

5. Distinction from the Lisa Cook/Fed Case

• Summary: The episode also addresses a narrower Supreme Court ruling on Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook. There, removal must be “for cause” (e.g., alleged mortgage fraud), unlike the at-will removal approved in Slaughter’s case.
  • Slaughter’s Critique: Describes the split among justices as “difficult to reconcile” on constitutional grounds and suggests it’s based on outcome-oriented reasoning.
  • Quote: “What the Supreme Court has done has said, yes, that rule is valid and applies to the Fed, but it doesn't apply to the FTC or other independent agencies for reasons that are very difficult for me to pin down in any kind of intellectually coherent manner.” — Rebecca Kelly Slaughter [05:40]
  • Quote: “I find those decisions very difficult to reconcile from any sort of intelligible constitutional law principle. I think they're pretty more easily understood as sort of outcome oriented.” — Rebecca Kelly Slaughter [06:35]

6. Advice for Future Administrations & Congress’s Role

• Summary: Asked whether future Democratic presidents should use this new power, Slaughter instead stresses congressional oversight and the urgent need for bipartisan legislative action to restore checks and balances.
  • Quote: “The first thing that needs to happen is that Congress needs to reassert its authority and its constitutional responsibility to check an out of control executive. And that means oversight. That means using the power of the purse. That means using its own role in the nominations process.” — Rebecca Kelly Slaughter [07:34]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "[The ruling] is a massive transfer of power from Congress to the President and it's a transfer that transforms these agencies that Congress set up... into instruments of the powerful and of the executive." — Rebecca Kelly Slaughter [01:01]
• “It's not about whether a president can set policy or pick people... It's a little bit like corporate boards... to make sure... decisions were in the best interest of the shareholders of the American government, the taxpayers, and not just to benefit the executive." — Rebecca Kelly Slaughter [02:34]
• “[W]hat is lost is a lot of the quality of the debate... and the work that the agency produces... There's an incentive to find consensus where you can, so that decisions will have durability and stability throughout administrations.” — Rebecca Kelly Slaughter [03:44]
• “If the principle… holds, it also decimates the civil service... or any of the sort of career expertise that we have over centuries.” — Rebecca Kelly Slaughter [04:41]
• "I find those decisions very difficult to reconcile from any sort of intelligible constitutional law principle.... more easily understood as sort of outcome oriented." — Rebecca Kelly Slaughter [06:35]
• “Congress needs to reassert its authority… to check an out of control executive.… That is the first step to getting the system back on track.” — Rebecca Kelly Slaughter [07:34]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:01]: Slaughter’s reaction to the Supreme Court decision and transfer of power
• [02:34]: Historical context and agency structure analogy
• [03:44]: What bipartisan commissions provide and what’s lost if they’re gone
• [04:41]: Threat to civil service and perpetual government function
• [05:40]: Significance of the Lisa Cook decision and inconsistencies in judicial reasoning
• [07:34]: Advice to future lawmakers and the need for congressional action

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This episode offers a clear, passionate, and informed perspective from Rebecca Kelly Slaughter on the far-reaching implications of the Supreme Court's ruling—both for the future of U.S. regulatory agencies and the constitutional balance between the branches of government.

Transcript

[Bloomberg Host]

Indiana University strengthens tomorrow's workforce with practical, real world experience. IU grads make a difference in your community, serving as teachers, nurses and engineers who rise to tomorrow's challenges and meet them. Learn more at iu.edu impact,

[Rebecca Kelly Slaughter]

Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts, Radio News.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

Joining us now for more on the Slaughter case specifically is its namesake, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, the fired FTC commissioner by President Trump, who of course fought that and took it all the way to the Supreme Court, a challenge that of course ended with this ruling yesterday. Welcome back to Bloomberg TV and Radio. Commissioner, when we consider President Trump's words about your case in the court's ruling, he called it the biggest and most consequential decision issued by the court, which he says gives tremendous additional power back to the presidency. Is that the right characterization?

[Rebecca Kelly Slaughter]

Yes, I think that's exactly the right characterization and it's exactly why I think the ruling is so disturbing. It is a massive transfer of power from Congress to the President and it's a transfer that transforms these agencies that Congress set up to work for and be accountable to the people into instruments of the powerful and of the executive.

[Bloomberg Host]

Well, kind of interesting to hear you agree with Donald Trump in a live conversation. Rebecca, thank you for coming back to talk to us here on Bloomberg. What's, what's the result of this? The door keeps swinging every four to eight years. It's not just the administration that changes, but the entire administrative state.

[Rebecca Kelly Slaughter]

Yeah, I think that's exactly right. And I think it's important to go back to the history and understand that this is not a partisan issue and it certainly shouldn't be a partisan issue. The case that was overturned yesterday, Humphrey's executor, was the case of a conservative pro business Republican who FDR tried to fire from the FTC because Commissioner Humphrey was running around calling the New deal socialist and FDR didn't like that. And so the precedent, the 91 year old unanimous precedent actually originally protected a pro business Republican's ability to provide transparency and accountability at the ftc. The other way I think about it, it's not about whether a president can set policy or pick people to work at agencies. I think about it a little bit like corporate boards, we have a requirement that publicly traded companies have independent boards of directors. Not so that the CEO can't be in charge, but the decisions that the CEO makes are really in the best interests of the shareholders of the company and not just a way to do favors for his pals or enrich himself. These boards and commissions like the FTC or the Federal Communications Commission were set up by Congress with a similar structure to make sure that their decisions were in the best interest of the shareholders of the American government, the taxpayers, and not just to benefit the executive.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

Well, when we consider the setup of these independent commissioners, there is usually a partisan split, if you will. You can't have a clean tie on a lot of these boards, as you put them, Rebecca. So what would be lost if a president is able to effectively just get rid of anyone who was appointed by a predecessor of a different party? Is it not the case that usually you would still see things swing the way the administration wants it to swing, given the majority that would be there on the commission?

[Rebecca Kelly Slaughter]

Yeah. I think what is lost is a lot of the quality of the debate and the discussion and the work that the agency produces. I started at the FTC as a Trump appointee, as a minority commissioner in the first Trump administration. I was in the majority during the Biden administration, back to the minority. So I've seen all sides of it. And what I learned from experience is that there is enormous benefit to the agency and to the public from having a leadership structure that requires you to engage with people from different political perspectives, understand their point of view, try to find consensus. There's an incentive to find consensus where you can, so that decisions will have durability and stability throughout administrations, and then to air for the public respectful disagreements when you can't reach that consensus. And that quality of debate and discussion and consideration is absolutely lost if we move to agencies that are just going to swing wildly one way or the other. And I think the downstream consequences are not just at the leadership level of these agencies. But if the principle that the court articulated in my case holds, it also decimates the civil service, for example, or any of the sort of career expertise that we have over centuries work to build up in our government so that it can really do its best work on behalf of the American people?

[Bloomberg Host]

Of course, your case, Rebecca, was delivered in its decision alongside a separate and more narrow ruling on Lisa Cook's case on the Federal Reserve. I don't want to turn you into a legal analyst. We're not going to run through all the decisions here. But knowing that this is about her potential hiring or firing, I'm wondering what you thought of, of this very narrow ruling that, to the extent that I read it here, still allows for her potential firing if the administration can prove allegations of mortgage fraud. Did they move the needle on this case or not?

[Rebecca Kelly Slaughter]

Well, I think it is actually a really important distinction. The President attempted to fire me or successfully now fired me for no cause at all, just at will. He tried to fire Lisa Cook for a cause. I think it is a pretty clear pretextual cause. But that is consistent with what the statute that enabled the Federal Reserve in 1913 and the statute that enabled the FTC in 1914 allow. It allows commissioners to be removed for cause. And so what the Supreme Court has done has said, yes, that rule is valid and applies to the Fed, but it doesn't apply to the FTC or the other independent agencies for reasons that are very difficult for me to pin down in any kind of intellectually coherent manner. I think it's important to recognize that there were only two justices who took the position that I could be fired and Lisa Cook could not be. It is the Chief justice and Justice Kavanaugh, the other conservative justice, said all of us could be fired, and the liberal justices said none but two who switched positions. I find those decisions very difficult to reconcile from any sort of intelligible constitutional law principle. I think they're pretty more easily understood as sort of outcome oriented. We want to protect the Fed because we're worried about its effect on the economy. But for the agencies that are supposed to be watchdogs for the American consumer and honest businesses, we're not so worried about it.

[Bloomberg Interviewer]

Wow, we're almost out of time, Rebecca. Less than a minute left. We obviously know what this Republican president has wanted to be able to do in terms of exercising power to get rid of people that he doesn't want in these positions. What would your advice be if a Democrat is in the White House next? Should they take advantage of it?

[Rebecca Kelly Slaughter]

Well, listen, I think the first thing that needs to happen is that Congress needs to reassert its authority and its constitutional responsibility to check an out of control executive. And that means oversight. That means using the power of the purse. That means using its own role in the nominations process. And I think that means electing members of Congress from both parties who are willing to do that. And that is the first step to getting the system back on track.

[Bloomberg Host]

She's a former commissioner on the FTC and central to our conversations these past 48 hours. Rebecca, it's great to have you back. We thank you for joining us here.

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