Part 3/12:
Historically, under longstanding legal doctrine rooted in a 1935 Supreme Court decision called Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, presidents have been limited in their ability to dismiss certain federal commissioners. Humphrey’s established that agencies like the Federal Trade Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, and others—or “independent agencies”—could only be removed for “cause,” such as misconduct or criminal activity. This decision effectively created a layer of bureaucrats insulated from presidential control, allowing them to operate free from direct political oversight—a characteristic critics refer to as the “headless fourth branch of government.”