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Supreme Court Case Tracker

Emergency application

Donald J. Trump, President of the United States v. Rebecca Kelly Slaughter

Granted
No. 25A264Stay applicationFiled by the federal governmentPresented to The Chief JusticeFrom United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

What did the Court do?

The Court granted the request on September 22, 2025: the lower court's ruling is on hold while the appeal continues.

Emergency rulings are temporary and do not decide the underlying case. Justice Kagan, Justice Sotomayor, and Justice Jackson would have ruled the other way.

Filed Ruled 18 days after filing

What's being asked

The federal government asks the Supreme Court to pause (stay) a lower-court ruling from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit while the appeal continues. The case is Donald J. Trump, President of the United States v. Rebecca Kelly Slaughter.

What the Court did

Application (25A264) for stay presented to The Chief Justice and by him referred to the Court is granted. The July 17, 2025 order of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 25–cv–909, ECF Doc. 52, is stayed. The application is also treated as a petition for a writ of certiorari before judgment, and the petition is granted (case No. 25-332). The parties are directed to brief and argue the following questions: (1) Whether the statutory removal protections for members of the Federal Trade Commission violate the separation of powers and, if so, whether <i>Humphrey’s Executor</i> v. <i>United States</i>, 295 U. S. 602 (1935), should be overruled. (2) Whether a federal court may prevent a person’s removal from public office, either through relief at equity or at law. The Clerk is directed to establish a briefing schedule that will allow the case to be argued in the December 2025 argument session. The stay shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of this Court. Justice Kagan, joined by Justice Sotomayor, and Justice Jackson, dissents. (Detached <a href = 'https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/25a264_o759.pdf'>Opinion</a>)

Dissenting · 3recorded against the Court's order
  1. Sotomayorjoined Kagan's writing
  2. Kaganwrote a dissent
  3. Jacksonjoined Kagan's writing
Vote not published · 6the order does not say how they voted
  1. Thomas
  2. Roberts
  3. Alito
  4. Gorsuch
  5. Kavanaugh
  6. Barrett
The order records the positions of 3 of 9 justices. The Court usually does not say how each justice voted on an emergency application, so the rest are shown as not published.
Days from filing to a ruling for 133 rulings on applications decided without a response since January 1, 2025. The band is the middle half, the tick the median, and the mark this application: ruled 18 days after filing.

What it means

This is a temporary order about what happens while the case is decided, not a ruling on who is right. The case continues in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Court is also handling the full case, Donald J. Trump, President of the United States v. Rebecca Kelly Slaughter.

Separate writings

  • Justice Kagan, joined by Justice Jackson and Justice Sotomayor, dissenting

Sources

Facts on this page come from the Supreme Court docket, orders, and opinions for No. 25A264. The answers restate that record in plain words; explainer copy is written from the record and the filings only.

Checked September 25, 2026