Author Shawn Fleetwood profileSUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES — The U.S. Supreme Court signaled on Monday that it’s prepared to recognize what the Constitution has unequivocally held for centuries — that the president controls the executive branch of government.

During oral arguments for Trump v. Slaughter, a majority of justices appeared favorable to the Trump administration’s arguments regarding President Trump’s firing of Rebecca Slaughter, a Democrat member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). As The Federalist previously reported, the case deals with presidents’ ability to remove members of so-called “independent agencies” and could result in the court overturning Humphrey’s Executor v. U.S. (1935), which upheld statutory limitations on presidents’ removal powers.

In challenging the precedent established in Humphrey’s, U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer posited the unitary executive theory, a doctrine that rests on the notion that the president has absolute authority over the executive branch. He argued that Humphrey’s infringes upon this constitutionally prescribed power, and as such, “must be overruled.” …