Welcome to the NewsHour. The Supreme Court heard arguments today in a legal case that could vastly expand presidential powers. At stake are 90 years of precedent that have kept presidents from being able to remove members of independent government agencies. The case looks at whether President Trump acted legally in firing Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic member of the bipartisan

Federal Trade Commission, saying her service was inconsistent with Trump administration priorities.

Slaughter sued, arguing that commissioners can only be fired for inefficiency, neglect of duty,

or malfeasance. Today, Trump administration lawyers argued that gives agencies too much power.

It continues to tempt Congress to erect at the heart of our government a headless fourth branch

insulated from political accountability and democratic control.

But liberal justices warned about the impact this could have on the balance of power.

You're asking us to destroy the structure of government and to take away from Congress its ability to protect its idea that the government is better structured with some agencies

that are independent.

Joining me now to discuss today's arguments is the NewsHour's Supreme Court analyst Amy Howe.

She's co-founder of SCOTUS blog. Good to see you, Amy. Good to see you too.

So let's set the table here. Rebecca Slaughter was actually first appointed by President Trump in 2018,

reappointed by President Biden, fired by Trump in March.

The Trump administration called the legal precedent that usually protects people like her

from being removed a decaying husk.

What's behind that legal precedent that's protected people like slaughter?

So this is a decision that dates back to 1935 and, in fact, involves very similar facts.

FDR wanted to fire a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission in no small part to put his own people in the job.

The commissioner resisted. He eventually was fired, went to court, and the Supreme Court in that case upheld the same removal

statute that is at the center of this case. It said Congress enacted these removal statutes

precisely because it wants agencies like the FTC to be independent. And it isn't infringing on

FDR executive power because the agency doesn't exercise substantial executive

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