Rebecca Slaughter discussed her Supreme Court case and its aftermath in an interview with Vanity Fair. The interview followed the Court’s June 29 ruling in Trump v. Slaughter, which rejected her challenge to President Donald Trump’s decision to remove her from the Federal Trade Commission.
The Supreme Court held that the president has broad authority to remove the heads of independent agencies that wield executive power. Slaughter described the experience of becoming the face of a Supreme Court case as “not fun.” She also discussed her reaction to the ruling, saying that Chief Justice John Roberts “relished the opportunity” to overturn the “precedent protecting independent agencies.”
Slaughter said the case’s outcome left no further strategic decisions for her to second-guess. “There was nothing we could have done,” she said. “And in a way, that was sort of a relief, because I didn’t have to second-guess some of the strategic decisions that we made along the way.”
The ruling addressed the president’s authority to remove leaders of independent agencies. Slaughter’s challenge centered on Trump’s decision to remove her from the Federal Trade Commission, and the Court ruled against her on June 29.
Slaughter said she is still “figuring that out” when asked about her next job. The interview did not identify her next position.