Trump's firings of independent agency heads put 90-year-old Supreme Court precedent in crosshairs

Washington — President Trump's firings of the members of independent agencies and boards have prompted a string of legal fights that could set the Supreme Court up to reconsider and potentially overturn a 90-year-old decision that shields certain executive branch officials from being removed after political shifts in the White House.

Since returning to the presidency, Mr. Trump has terminated the heads of the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board, as well as the director of the Office of Government Ethics and the special counsel, Hampton Dellinger, who oversees the office that investigates whistleblower complaints.

The officials learned of their firings through emails stating that they had been removed from their respective positions at their agencies, according to court filings.