US supreme court appears set to back Trump on FTC firing in major expansion of power

Conservative justices seem to signal support for president over move to fire Democrat Rebecca Slaughter in MarchUS politics live – latest updatesThe US supreme court on Monday appeared poised to back the Trump administration’s argument that the president should be able to fire independent board members that for almost a century have been protected from presidential interference.The court heard arguments concerning the legality of Donald Trump’s firing of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member and appeared to be split down partisan lines in favor of a historic expansion of executive power, with the conservatives – including the sometimes swing vote of Justice Amy Coney Barrett – seeming to side with the administration. Continue reading...