It's flown a bit under the radar with all of the other news of the day, but the Supreme Court handed President Trump and his administration a second win on Monday, albeit a temporary one: In the case styled Slaughter v. Trump, regarding the removal of independent agency leaders, Chief Justice John Roberts issued an administrative (temporary) stay of a district court order granting summary judgment in favor of plaintiff Rebecca Slaughter, who challenged her March 2025 removal as a commissioner from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). 

Slaughter and another commissioner, Alvaro Bedoya, both filed suit to challenge their removal. However, in June, Bedoya notified the court he was resigning from his position as FTC commissioner so that he could pursue other (gainful) employment. In July, Judge Loren AliKhan (a Biden appointee) issued an order dismissing Bedoya's claims without prejudice (as moot) and granting summary judgment in favor of Slaughter and enjoining the defendants "from removing Ms. Slaughter from her lawful position as an FTC Commissioner or otherwise interfering with Ms. Slaughter’s right to perform her lawful duties as an FTC Commissioner until the expiration of her term or unless she is lawfully removed by the President for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office” pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 41."

RELATED: NEW: Just Fired FTC Commissioner Loses His Mind, Accuses Trump of Breaking the Law

The administration appealed to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and sought a stay of Judge AliKhan's order. While the D.C. Circuit initially entered an administrative (temporary) stay, on September 2, it denied the administration's motion for stay pending appeal and ordered the administrative stay dissolved.

The administration then filed an application for stay with the Supreme Court on September 4, and the court then issued an order administratively staying the case today (Monday). 

Of note, the order specifies that a response to the administration's application must be filed by Monday, September 15, but it appears that Slaughter already filed a response (on September 5). 

In any case, we can expect a follow-up order regarding the administration's application for stay pending appeal in the not-too-distant future. Now, as with the D.C. Circuit's rulings here, the fact that an administrative (temporary) stay has been entered doesn't necessarily mean that a stay pending appeal will be. But it's at least a win for the moment. RedState will, of course, continue to follow the case and report on any further developments of note. 

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