Can the President Fire Anyone? SCOTUS Hears Arguments in Trump v. Slaughter

Richard Epstein does a deep into the Supreme Court’s latest showdown: Trump v. Slaughter, a case that could redefine presidential removal power and the future of independent agencies like the FTC. Epstein walks through the constitutional history — from the Founding to Humphrey’s Executor to modern administrative courts — and explains how the Court’s interpretation of Article II has evolved, splintered, and in some cases contradicted itself. The conversation covers everything from the steel-seizure precedent to the Federal Reserve, the structure of the administrative state, and the unresolved tension between originalism and the practical realities of modern governance. Epstein explains why this case could be one of the most consequential constitutional questions of our time.