Columbia News

Senator Eric Schmitt, U.S. Senator for Missouri, posted a series of statements on August 28, 2025, discussing recent Supreme Court decisions related to presidential authority over federal officials.

In his first post, Schmitt wrote: "As the Supreme Court clarified a few months ago: the default rule is that Article II of the Constitution grants the President the authority to remove any federal official wielding executive power for any reason the President deems appropriate, including policy disagreements." (August 28, 2025)

He continued in a second post: "For example, in the recent Trump v. Wilcox case, SCOTUS upheld President Trump's firing of several unelected bureaucrats who were obstructing his agenda. However, the Court also suggested there may be limitations to this power for 'quasi-private' bodies like the Fed." (August 28, 2025)

In a third statement on the same day, Schmitt added: "Decades ago, a series of Supreme Court cases established a few narrow exceptions to the default rule. In recent years, however, SCOTUS reaffirmed the default rule and the President's authority by significantly narrowing those already limited exceptions." (August 28, 2025)

The issue of presidential removal power has been subject to legal debate for decades. Historically, Supreme Court cases have created certain exceptions limiting when and how presidents can dismiss executive branch officials. More recently, however, court decisions have tended to reinforce presidential authority by narrowing these exceptions further.