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Marketplace · Monday, June 29, 2026

Supreme Court Greenlights Presidential Control Over Independent Agencies, Exempts Federal Reserve

The Supreme Court has ruled that presidents can directly control "independent" agencies, a decision that Lea Littman, a law professor at the University of Michigan, calls "ridiculous." However, the Federal Reserve has been exempted from this ruling due to its perceived economic importance.

personLea LittmanpersonSotomayorpersonRobertscompanyFederal Reserve

The tape

3 quotes
Yes, that is basically the court's reasoning that the importance of the Fed means that the Fed is exempt from the court's newly announced rule that independent agencies cannot exist because the president must have the power to fire the heads of any agency exercising significant executive power.
Lea Littman
It is frankly, ridiculous.
Lea Littman
Justice Sotomayor in her, uh, dissent in that case said, chaos will follow.
Kai Ryssdal
Heard on Marketplace — “The president's new power over independent agencies, published Monday, June 29, 2026. Heardvine summarizes and quotes with attribution and timestamps, and links to the original everywhere.
Transcribed via Gemini audio transcription · $0.04