The U.S. Supreme Court handed supporters of the Unitary Executive Theory a huge victory. For decades, many conservative constitutional scholars have argued that the president should have complete control over the executive branch.

Those who advocated for the Unitary Executive Theory argued that the executive branch of government should have the unchecked ability to remove members of agencies like the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and undo laws that restrict the president's ability to make those moves.

The high court ruled that congressional restrictions on the president's power violated the separation of powers. Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution says, "The executive power shall be vested in a president of the United States of America."

The modern push for a unitary executive gained traction during the Reagan administration. Organizations like the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation began a decades-long effort to bring the theory into the mainstream.

The debate over executive power dates back to the Founding Fathers. In the Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton argued for a strong executive leader. He asserted, "Energy in the executive is the leading character in the definition of good government. It is essential to the protection of the community against foreign attacks ... (and) to the security of liberty."

The facts at issue in the case before the Supreme Court related to a law that barred the president from firing members of the FTC except in cases of "inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office."

According to SCOTUSblog, during his first term in office, President Donald Trump nominated Rebecca Slaughter to fill one of the Democratic seats on the FTC. She was renominated in 2023 to serve a second term. Last year, Slaughter was informed that she had been "removed from the Federal Trade Commission, effective immediately." The letter did not cite any of the legal grounds that would allow Trump to remove her. Slaughter went to court to stop her removal. The case made its way to the Supreme Court.

By a 6-3 margin, the justices overruled a 91-year-old decision that upheld the law restricting presidential control over executive agencies. According to SCOTUSblog, the Supreme Court gave President Donald Trump "sweeping new authority over approximately two dozen multi-member agencies that Congress intended to be independent."

This ruling brings more room for self-dealing, favoritism and corruption, whatever political party controls the presidency.

Cass R. Sunstein, who once headed the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, wrote in The New York Times, "Now that the White House is in charge of the FCC for example, the president may reward his political friends and punish his political enemies in ways that threaten freedom of expression and that might not be visible to the public."

Chief Justice John Roberts penned the majority opinion. He wrote that "the President must have the assistance of officers he can trust ... (t)hen, and only then, can they remain accountable to the President, and the President to the people."

According to The Hill, Justice Sonia Sotomayor delivered a sharp dissent. "Put simply, today the majority reshapes our Government," Sotomayor wrote in her 49-page dissent, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

She added, "Dozens of independent commissions are now likely to become purely executive agencies, shifting tremendous power over broad swaths of American life into the President's hands."

The Unitary Executive Theory lends itself to abuses of authority. As has been demonstrated in the last 18 months, the concentration of power in a single individual invites abuses of power, undermines legislative and judicial independence, and puts the nation at risk of impulsive or unconstitutional actions.

Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book, "The Executioner's Toll," 2010, was released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewTMangino

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