December 8, 2025

Good Monday evening. In this edition: Justices appear likely to expand presidential power over independent agencies.

• Plus, Netflix vs. Paramount, NDAA, farmer aid, Alina Habba, Jasmine Crockett and national parks.

Supreme Court

A majority of Supreme Court justices appeared inclined to make it easier for President Trump to remove leaders of independent federal agencies, signaling an openness to overturning or narrowing a 90-year-old precedent that has long shielded those officials from political pressure.

• The case, Trump v. Slaughter, will determine whether the president acted within his authority when he removed Rebecca Slaughter from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) without cause.

President Trump dismissed Ms. Slaughter, a Democrat, in March, saying her continued service would be "inconsistent with [the] administration's priorities."

• He also fired Alvaro Bedoya, the only other Democrat on the five-member FTC, which is charged with protecting consumers and promoting fair competition.

Ms. Slaughter sued, arguing that the FTC Act of 1914 allows commissioners to be removed only for "inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office."

• A federal district court agreed, relying on the Supreme Court's 1935 decision in Humphrey's Executor v. United States, which upheld the FTC's for-cause removal protections against a challenge by President Franklin Roosevelt.

After an appeals court affirmed the district court's order to reinstate Ms. Slaughter, the Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court.

• Justices put the reinstatement order on hold and agreed to hear the case, which could have broad implications for the dozens of independent agencies that President Trump has sought to reshape since taking office.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer, representing the administration, urged the court to overturn Humphrey's Executor, calling it an "indefensible outlier" and a "decaying husk."

• "It was grievously wrong when decided, and cases from Morrison to Trump have thoroughly eroded its foundations," he said. "It continues to generate confusion in the lower courts, and it continues to tempt Congress to erect at the heart of our government a headless fourth branch insulated from political accountability and democratic control."

Amit Agarwal, representing Ms. Slaughter, argued that the president's "duty to execute the law does not give him the power to violate the law with impunity."

• "On the merits, multi-member commissions with members enjoying some kind of removal protection have been part of our story since 1790," he said. "So, if petitioners are right, all three branches of government have been wrong from the start."

The court's conservative justices appeared sympathetic to the administration's position, with Chief Justice John Roberts describing Humphrey's Executor as "just a dried husk of whatever people used to think it was."

• Justices 90 years ago, he said, were "addressing an agency that had very little, if any, executive power and that may be why they were able to attract such a broad support on the court at the time."

The court's liberal justices warned that ruling for the administration could upend the structure of the modern federal government and threaten the independence Congress intended for bipartisan boards and commissions.

• "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," Justice Sonia Sotomayor told Mr. Sauer.

Mr. Sauer responded that "the sky will not fall" if the court gives the president this new power.

• "In fact, our entire government will move toward accountability to the people," he said.

Listen to the oral argument — and read analysis from our partners at SCOTUSblog.

In other news…

• President Trump cast doubt Sunday on Netflix's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, saying it "could be a problem" because the streaming giant already holds a "very big market share." He said he would consult with "some economists" and expected to be involved in whether the deal receives regulatory approval. On Monday, Paramount launched a hostile takeover bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, valuing the entire company, including its cable networks, at $108.4 billion. Netflix's offer would acquire only the company's studio and streaming assets through a mix of cash and stock valued at $72 billion.
  
  

• Lawmakers released the compromise version of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual defense policy bill considered must-pass legislation. The measure authorizes more than $900 billion for the Pentagon, nuclear weapons development and other national security programs — an $8 billion increase over President Trump's request. The bill includes a 3.8% pay raise for service members and repeals two decades-old war powers laws. It also includes a provision directing the Pentagon to release the video of the Sept. 2 U.S. military strikes on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean. The House is expected to approve the measure this week, sending it to the Senate for final passage next week.
  
  

• President Trump announced a $12 billion aid package for farmers affected by the trade war between the U.S. and its top trading partners, particularly China. The funds will come from U.S. tariff revenues. Up to $11 billion will go to the Agriculture Department's new Farmer Bridge Assistance program, which will provide one-time payments to row-crop farmers. The remaining $1 billion will be reserved for specialty crops as the department evaluates the specific circumstances facing those growers. Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) accused the president of taking credit for "trying to fix a mess of his making."
  
  

• Alina Habba, who previously served as President Trump's personal defense lawyer, resigned as U.S. attorney for New Jersey after a panel of federal judges ruled last week that she had been serving in the position unlawfully. Ms. Habba was appointed in March, and her tenure was set to expire in July, but the administration sought to keep her in place through a series of maneuvers that prompted legal challenges. She said she will remain at the Justice Department as a senior adviser to the attorney general.
  
  

• Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) announced she will run for the U.S. Senate in Texas, seeking the seat held by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who is locked in a tight primary battle with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) and Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX). Former Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) withdrew from the Senate race ahead of her announcement and said he will instead seek to return to the House. Texas state Rep. James Talarico, known for his progressive brand of Christianity, remains in the Democratic primary.
  
  

• The Trump administration removed Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from next year's list of entrance fee–free days at national parks and added President Trump's birthday, which coincides with Flag Day. Under a new "America-first pricing" policy, non-U.S. residents will still be required to pay entrance fees on those dates. At 11 of the country's most popular national parks, international visitors will be charged an additional $100 on top of the standard entrance fee.

For your radar…

• The Supreme Court hears oral argument Tuesday in National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission, a case on whether the limits on coordinated party expenditures violate the First Amendment. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN at 10am ET.
  
  

• Gene Simmons, the former bassist and co-lead singer of the rock band KISS, testifies alongside music executives before a Senate panel on Tuesday on the American Music Fairness Act. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN3 at 3pm ET.

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