The U.S. Supreme Court issued four significant rulings Monday affecting President Donald Trump's executive authority, with the justices ruling in his favor on one major case and against him on three others. The decisions touched on presidential power over independent agencies, the independence of the Federal Reserve, mail-in ballot counting deadlines, and a civil sexual assault verdict.

In the most consequential ruling, a 6-3 conservative majority overturned a 90-year-old precedent in Trump v. Slaughter, holding that removal protections for members of independent federal agencies are unconstitutional. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, held that officials who exercise executive power must be subject to removal by the president. The case centered on Trump's 2025 firing of Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter without cause. In a rare bench dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned the ruling would transform dozens of independent commissions into purely executive agencies, saying 'chaos will follow.'

In a separate 5-4 decision, the court blocked Trump from immediately removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, preserving the central bank's independence from direct presidential interference. Trump had sought to oust Cook citing unproven mortgage fraud allegations, but the court ruled she may remain in her post while litigation proceeds. No president had previously attempted to remove a sitting Fed governor since the central bank was established in 1913.

The court also declined to review a New York jury's 2024 verdict finding Trump civilly liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll and subsequently defaming her, offering no explanation or noted dissents. In a fourth ruling, the justices upheld laws in more than a dozen states that allow mail-in ballots arriving after Election Day to be counted, rejecting a challenge backed by national Republicans and the Trump administration.

The FTC ruling is expected to have wide-ranging implications for more than two dozen multi-member independent agencies, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the National Labor Relations Board, all of which have historically been shielded from at-will presidential removal. Trump celebrated the FTC decision on social media, calling it one of the most important rulings ever issued regarding presidential powers. Critics, including Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, argued the decision would allow Trump to install political allies at agencies designed to operate free from partisan control.