More than 50 academics asked Congress to set a default quorum that prevents one appointee from governing alone, require a replacement nomination within 90 days of a firing and let claimants go to federal court when an adjudicatory commission lacks a quorum. The proposal follows the Supreme Court’s 6–3 Trump v. Slaughter decision striking down the FTC’s for-cause removal protection for commissioners exercising executive power; the FEC and CPSC currently lack quorums.
[UPDATE]
Two of the scholars are also developing a judicial backstop. University of Minnesota law professor Nicholas Bednar says he and Todd Phillips have proposed a “Faithful Execution Exception to Slaughter” under which courts could enjoin presidential removals that would destroy a multimember commission’s quorum.