Supreme Court rebuffs challenge to job protections for US consumer watchdog leaders

Source: Reuters

October 21, 2024 9:58 AM EDT Updated 2 hours ago


WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a conservative challenge to job protections for the leaders of the federal consumer product safety watchdog in a case that would have given the justices a chance to reassess a 1935 precedent that limits a president's ability to fire certain agency heads.

The justices turned away an appeal by plaintiffs led by the conservative group Consumers' Research of a lower court's ruling upholding the protections involving the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, an independent agency within the federal government's executive branch.

The 1972 federal law that established the agency makes its five commissioners removable only for "neglect of duty or malfeasance," not at the whim of a president, as lawmakers sought to insulate it from presidential control. The plaintiffs sued the agency, arguing that this law violates the U.S. Constitution's principle of separation of powers among the government's executive, legislative and judicial branches.

The suit was brought after the agency denied information requests filed under the Freedom of Information Act by Consumers' Research and a second plaintiff in the case, a Texas company called By Two. Lawyers for Democratic President Joe Biden's administration had urged the Supreme Court to turn away the appeal, arguing that the plaintiffs lacked the required legal standing to sue the agency and that their claims are foreclosed by Supreme Court precedent.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/legal/supreme-court-rebuffs-challenge-job-protections-us-consumer-watchdog-leaders-2024-10-21/

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The Consumer Product Safety Commission is probably one of the tiniest agencies to boot. It took over monitoring a bunch of things that believe it or not, FDA used to monitor (e.g., flammability of toys & even clothing like pajamas).