Return of the "Spoils System"

I was never one of those professors who used the same lecture notes year after year, but generally the basic ideas of American government–the federal system, the separation of powers, the Constitutional order–were much the same from one year to the next. 

I always had a unit on what were called the Independent Regulatory Agencies, sometimes known as the 4th branch of government.  These were commissions set up by Congress to regulate certain aspects of the American economy.  The first one was the Interstate Commerce Commission, formed in 1887 to regulate the railroads.  It was abolished in the 1990s, although other agencies took on some of its responsibilities.  

You may have heard of the Security and Exchange Commission, set up during the New Deal to regulate the Stock Market.  And I know you have heard of the Federal Reserve Board.  The commissioners who ran these agencies were insulated from the president and congress so they could regulate the various aspects of the economy without worrying about being fired.  Until this week.

The Supreme Court ruled that President Trump could fire Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission.  The vote was 6-3.  President Trump, who often lies and exaggerates, called this a BIG WIN, and said it was a “Historic and Unprecedented Ruling, one of the most important ever given with respect to Presidential Powers.” 

This time Trump is correct.  Over a century of precedent has been overturned.  Independent regulatory agencies are a thing of the past.  The Supreme Court has completely abdicated its responsibilities, and we are back to what was once called “the Spoils System.”  To the winner belongs the spoils.

I might add here that the Court said Trump could not fire a member of the Federal Reserve Board.  I don’t know any logical reason to carve out an exception for a single regulatory agency.  It was simply an arbitrary ruling.