Roberts' decades-long push overturns Humphrey's Executor to expand presidential power
Chief Justice John Roberts has spent decades expanding presidential removal power, culminating in a ruling that reversed Humphrey’s Executor v. United States and allowed the President to fire heads of independent agencies, with a Federal Reserve exception. The decision reflects Roberts' unitary executive theory and strategic patience, and fits a conservative pattern of expanding presidential authority, including Trump immunity and curtailing elements of the Voting Rights Act, while liberal justices warned about reduced regulatory independence.
