Trump news at a glance: US supreme court appears set to back Trump’s power to fire independent board members | Trump administration
The US supreme court on Monday appeared poised to back the Trump administration’s argument that the president should be able to fire independent board members that for almost a century have been protected from presidential interference.
The court heard arguments concerning the legality of Donald Trump’s firing of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member and appeared to be split down partisan lines in favor of a historic expansion of executive power, with the conservatives – including the sometimes swing vote of Justice Amy Coney Barrett – seeming to side with the administration.
The justice department has appealed a lower court’s decision that the Republican president exceeded his authority when he moved to dismiss Rebecca Slaughter, the Democratic FTC member, in March before her term was set to expire.
US supreme court appears poised to back Trump’s power to fire FTC member
John Yoo, who served as a justice department lawyer under George W Bush, told Reuters the case presents “one of the most important questions over the last century on the workings of the federal government”. He added: “The future of the independence of the administrative state is at issue.”
The case gives the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, an opportunity to overturn a New Deal era supreme court precedent in a case called Humphrey’s Executor v United States that has shielded the heads of independent agencies from removal since 1935.
Israeli surveillance targets US at joint base planning Gaza aid and security
Israeli operatives are conducting widespread surveillance of US forces and allies stationed at a new US base in the country’s south, according to sources briefed on disputes about open and covert recordings of meetings and discussions. The scale of intelligence gathering at the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) prompted the US commander of the base, Lt Gen Patrick Frank, to summon an Israeli counterpart for a meeting to tell him that “recording has to stop here”.
Hegseth said US military should refuse ‘unlawful’ Trump orders in unearthed 2016 interview
The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, stated repeatedly in 2016 on Fox News that US service members should refuse “unlawful” orders from a potential president Trump – exactly the position he called “despicable” when Democratic lawmakers said it last month.
US attack on Venezuela risks ‘Vietnam-style’ conflict, warns Lula adviser
A US invasion or attack on Venezuela could plunge South America into a Vietnam-style conflict, the chief foreign policy adviser to Brazil’s president warned. In an interview with the Guardian, Celso Amorim called Donald Trump’s recent decision to order the closure of Venezuelan airspace “an act of war”, and voiced fears the crisis could intensify over the coming weeks.
Trump warns Netflix-Warner Bros deal poses competition concerns
Trump warned of potential competition problems over Netflix’s $83bn deal to buy Warner Brothers’ movie studio and streaming networks. The US president said he would be involved in deciding whether the government approved the takeover.
Netflix had a “big market share” and the companies’ combined size “could be a problem”, Trump said.
What else happened today:
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 7 December 2025.
