The Supreme Court issued a temporary ruling on July 23 upholding the ability of the Trump Administration to fire three of the five Commissioners of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). As ISPA previously reported, President Trump fired three Democratic Commissioners — Mary Boyle, Alexander Hoehn-Saric, and Richard Trumka Jr.— in May, asserting executive authority to restructure the agency.   

The unsigned ruling overturns an order from a U.S. District Court in Maryland that reinstated the Commissioners. The Supreme Court said it was bound by a recent determination that members of the National Labor Relations Board could similarly be fired by the President. 

The ruling raises several questions regarding the ability of the Administration to fire certain federal appointees based on affiliation with a political party and Justice Kagan, joined by Justices Sotomayor and Brown Jackson, dissented from this ruling. The Court’s order is not the final stage in the case but rather upholds the removal of the commissioners from their positions until the Fourth Circuit, and potentially the Supreme Court, decides the question on the merits. 

This ruling adds to uncertainty about the future of the CPSC. The Consumer Products Safety Act (CPSA) requires a quorum of three commissioners to conduct official CPSC business but permits a two-member quorum to conduct official CPSC business for six months in the event of multiple vacancies. With just a two Commissioner quorum, the CPSC can still recall dangerous consumer products, such as mattresses that violate mandatory flammability standards administered by the Commission. ISPA will keep you informed as this situation evolves.