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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section id=\"stickybar\" class=\"stickybar stickybar--newsletter js-stickybar\" readability=\"0.82\"> <button class=\"stickybar__close js-stickybar-close\" aria-controls=\"stickybar\"> <svg class=\"icon icon--close\" width=\"21\" height=\"22\" viewBox=\"0 0 21 22\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"m.822.518-.805.805L9.695 11 .017 20.678l.805.805 9.678-9.678 9.677 9.678.806-.805L11.305 11l9.678-9.677-.806-.805-9.677 9.677L.822.518Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><\/svg> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Close<\/span> <\/button> <\/section>\n<article class=\"single-article content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__container js-single-article-content\">\n<header class=\"single-article__header \" readability=\"26.214028776978\">\n<div class=\"single-article__header-content\" readability=\"35.625\">\n<ul class=\"single-article__eyebrow\">\n<li class=\"single-article__category\"> <a class=\"single-article__category-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/ftc-slaughter-reinstatement-blocked-by-supreme-court\/\"> <span>Government<\/span> <\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> As some observers predicted, Democratic commissioners are racking up lower court victories, but the highest court in the country appears skeptical. <\/p>\n<p>  <br \/>\n<audio id=\"audio-player\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-tts-cdn.api.scpnewsgrp.com\/cyberscoop\/85885\/english.openai.mp3\"><\/audio> <\/p>\n<div readability=\"11\">\n<div>\n<p>Listen to this article<\/p>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p>0:00<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p> <span id=\"tts-tooltip\">Learn more.<\/span> <span> This feature uses an automated voice, which may result in occasional errors in pronunciation, tone, or sentiment. <\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__cover-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"single-article__cover\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/supreme-court-blocks-ftc-commissioner-slaughters-reinstatement.jpg?resize=640%2C426&ssl=1\" class=\"single-article__cover-image wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/supreme-court-blocks-ftc-commissioner-slaughters-reinstatement-2.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/supreme-court-blocks-ftc-commissioner-slaughters-reinstatement-2.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/supreme-court-blocks-ftc-commissioner-slaughters-reinstatement-2.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/supreme-court-blocks-ftc-commissioner-slaughters-reinstatement-2.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/supreme-court-blocks-ftc-commissioner-slaughters-reinstatement-2.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/supreme-court-blocks-ftc-commissioner-slaughters-reinstatement-2.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/supreme-court-blocks-ftc-commissioner-slaughters-reinstatement-2.jpg?resize=252,168 252w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/supreme-court-blocks-ftc-commissioner-slaughters-reinstatement-2.jpg?resize=506,337 506w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/supreme-court-blocks-ftc-commissioner-slaughters-reinstatement-2.jpg?resize=1013,675 1013w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/supreme-court-blocks-ftc-commissioner-slaughters-reinstatement-2.jpg?resize=1265,843 1265w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1013px) 100vw, 1013px\"><figcaption> The front of the U.S. Supreme Court building is seen after sunset on June 24, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Photo by J. David Ake\/Getty Images) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"single-article__content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__content-inner has-drop-cap\"> <html readability=\"40.164814814815\"><body readability=\"80.876120189773\"><\/p>\n<p>Rebecca Slaughter\u2019s return-to-work orders have been put on hold for the second time this year, after the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in to block a lower court ruling that ordered her reinstatement at the Federal Trade Commission.<\/p>\n<p>Last week a lower court <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/court-rules-ftc-commissioners-reinstated-again-rebecca-slaughter-alvaro-bedoya\/\">ruled<\/a> that Slaughter had been illegally fired by President Donald Trump, citing a 90-year-old Supreme Court precedent upholding the FTC\u2019s independence from the executive branch and preventing presidents from firing commissioners for political reasons.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, Chief Justice John Roberts <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/mjsdc.bsky.social\/post\/3lydhslh3rs2o\">halted that order<\/a> while the Supreme Court considers the case. Roberts provided no explanation for the Supreme Court\u2019s reversal, but ordered the parties in the case to respond by Sept. 15.<\/p>\n<p>Slaughter, who has remained vocal on FTC business and last week expressed her eagerness to return, has been through this once already. Earlier this year, she was briefly reinstated to the FTC by a lower court, only to have that order reversed by another court days later.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Alvaro Bedoya, the other Democratic FTC commissioner Trump purported to fire, has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/06\/09\/fired-ftc-commissioner-formally-resigns-00394242\">since resigned<\/a> due to the financial difficulties tied to fighting his dismissal. He described the fight as a lose-lose situation: He is no longer receiving a federal salary as commissioner, and is also prohibited by conflict-of-interest rules from accepting other employment in the meantime.<\/p>\n<p>Bedoya has said that beyond the immediate fates of their jobs, the commissioners are ultimately fighting for an FTC that they believe works in the best interests of the public and is supported by Supreme Court precedent. He has argued the agency \u2014 which regulates and enforces against unfair or deceptive business practices, technology, data privacy and other issues \u2014 must be insulated from political pressure. <\/p>\n<p>In an <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RKSlaughterFTC\/status\/1963319497517142079\">online post<\/a> last week, Slaughter said her top priority was reinstating the FTC\u2019s Click to Cancel rule, a Biden-era regulation that would have forced companies to provide a simple and straightforward means to cancel their paid subscriptions.<\/p>\n<p>Roberts\u2019 order does not specify how the Supreme Court intends to rule on the case. Legal experts and former FTC officials have said it\u2019s no secret that the Trump administration is looking for the court\u2019s conservative majority to overturn Humphrey\u2019s Executor v. the United States, which was unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court in 1935.<\/p>\n<p>The high court\u2019s decision this week to reverse the D.C. District Court of Appeals ruling is also notable because the court voted 2-1 that Slaughter \u2014 not the government \u2014 deserved the benefit of the doubt while the case was being adjudicated, citing unambiguously clear and binding legal precedent that had not yet been overturned.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>That the Supreme Court overturned it anyway suggests they may agree with D.C. Appeals court Judge Neomi Rao, who wrote in her dissent that forcing FTC staff to acknowledge Slaughter\u2019s legitimacy in the face of presidential orders \u201cdirectly interferes with the President\u2019s supervision of the Executive Branch and therefore goes beyond the power of the federal courts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If the Supreme Court does ultimately side with the administration, it would track with what observers such as Berin Sz\u00f3ka, a technology lawyer and president of the think tank TechFreedom, predicted earlier this year. Sz\u00f3ka, who has supported Slaughter and Bedoya\u2019s efforts, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techpolicy.press\/courts-wont-stop-trumps-hostile-takeover-of-the-ftc-heres-how-to-resist\/\">wrote<\/a> in March that \u201cthe fired Democratic FTC Commissioners may win early battles in their lawsuits but, in all likelihood, will ultimately lose at the Supreme Court \u2014 unfortunately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roberts and the Supreme Court\u2019s conservative majority have \u201cmade clear it will not apply Humphrey\u2019s, if it remains good law at all, to today\u2019s more powerful FTC,\u201d Sz\u00f3ka wrote.<\/p>\n<p><\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\" readability=\"3.7257142857143\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"13\">\n<div class=\"author-card__avatar\">\n<figure class=\"author-card__image-wrap\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-card__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/supreme-court-blocks-ftc-commissioner-slaughters-reinstatement-1.jpg?w=640&ssl=1\" alt=\"Derek B. Johnson\"> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by Derek B. Johnson<\/h4>\n<p> Derek B. Johnson is a reporter at CyberScoop, where his beat includes cybersecurity, elections and the federal government. Prior to that, he has provided award-winning coverage of cybersecurity news across the public and private sectors for various publications since 2017. Derek has a bachelor\u2019s degree in print journalism from Hofstra University in New York and a master\u2019s degree in public policy from George Mason University in Virginia. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__tags-container\">\n<h4 class=\"single-article__tags-title\">In This Story<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<p> <\/html><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__ads js-single-article-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-5 ad--rightrail_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-4 ad--rightrail_2 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-3 ad--rightrail_3 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"popular-stories popular-stories--single-post\">\n<div class=\"popular-stories__container\">\n<h2 class=\"popular-stories__title\"> More Scoops <\/h2>\n<p>  <\/div>\n<p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<section class=\"latest-podcasts\">\n<h2 class=\"latest-podcasts__title\"> Latest Podcasts\t<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"top-categories\">\n<div class=\"top-categories__container\">\n<h3 class=\"top-categories__category-title\">Government<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"top-categories__container\">\n<h3 class=\"top-categories__category-title\">Technology<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <\/main> <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--bottom \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"interstitial\" class=\"welcome__container\"> <button id=\"close-modal-1\" class=\"welcome__clickable_area\"><\/button> <\/p>\n<div class=\"welcome__ad_wrapper\">\n<p> <button id=\"close-modal-3\" class=\"welcome__continue-button\">Continue to CyberScoop<\/button> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>   <\/body> <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/ftc-slaughter-reinstatement-blocked-by-supreme-court\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court blocks FTC commissioner Slaughter\u2019s reinstatement | CyberScoop Skip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[575,117,1704,290],"tags":[577,119,1708,296],"class_list":["post-7966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ftc","category-government","category-supreme-court","category-trump-administration","tag-ftc","tag-government","tag-supreme-court","tag-trump-administration"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":"","thumbnail":"","medium":"","medium_large":"","large":"","1536x1536":"","2048x2048":"","chromenews-featured":"","chromenews-large":"","chromenews-medium":""},"author_info":{"display_name":"Cyber Scoop","author_link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/author\/cyberscoop\/"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/ftc\/\" rel=\"category tag\">FTC<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/government\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Government<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/supreme-court\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Supreme Court<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/trump-administration\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Trump administration<\/a>","tag_info":"Trump administration","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7966\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":7966,"date":"2025-09-08T11:49:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T16:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=85885"},"modified":"2025-09-08T11:49:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T16:49:08","slug":"supreme-court-blocks-ftc-commissioner-slaughters-reinstatement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2025\/09\/08\/supreme-court-blocks-ftc-commissioner-slaughters-reinstatement\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court blocks FTC commissioner Slaughter\u2019s reinstatement"},"content":{"rendered":"