NPR News: 06-29-2026 2PM EDT

Lakshmi Singh· Host0:01

Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that President Trump can lawfully fire members of independent agencies. NPR's Andrea Hsu reports the decision overturns a 91-year-old precedent that has long served as a check on the president's power.

Andrea Hsu0:19

In a six to three ruling, the Supreme Court found President Trump's firing of Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter can stand. That's despite the fact that Congress stipulated that members of the FTC can only be fired for cause, such as neglect of duty or malfeasance. The conservative majority found that kind of constraint on the president's power is unconstitutional. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that as head of the executive branch, the president must be able to fire those serving under him who wield executive power, noting the FTC enforces some 80 statutes covering nearly every facet of the economy. In a separate five to four decision, the court carved out a limited exception for members of the Federal Reserve. Andrea Hsu, NPR News.

Lakshmi Singh· Host1:01

That carve by the Supreme Court allows Lisa Cook to keep her job on the governing board, at least for now. The Supreme Court has upheld a Mississippi law that allows election officials to count mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day, but received up to five days later. The ruling is a setback for the Republican Party, which brought the case ahead of this year's midterm elections. 18 states and territories, including Mississippi, have such mail ballot grace periods. A dozen additional states have grace periods for ballots