Good morning. President Trump is making the argument that his tariffs are working, but he’s also rolling out $12 billion to bail out farmers. Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would reject the U.S. proposal to cede land to Russia. And today, the Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the way political campaigns are funded. The justices heard arguments yesterday in a case that will determine how much power the president has over independent federal agencies. Let’s start there.
Power to the presidencyThe case, Trump v. Slaughter, is about whether President Trump can fire leaders from those agencies. If the court rules that he can do so at will, my colleague Ann E. Marimow reports, it’s a very big deal — a significant expansion of presidential power. It would overturn a judicial precedent set 90 years ago, during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, when the court said Congress could limit a president’s ability to get rid of independent commissioners who hadn’t done something deeply wrong. Trump did just that. In March, he fired Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic appointee, from her position as a member of the Federal Trade Commission, saying that she did not align with his administration’s priorities. The court probably won’t rule on the matter until late spring. But what our reporters heard from the justices yesterday was clear. The conservative majority seems poised to overturn or at least strictly limit the 1935 precedent, giving the president more control of government bodies that were meant to be nonpartisan. Safe from meddlingFederal law limits the president’s authority to fire government officials who work for more than two dozen independent governmental agencies. That is designed to shield their independence, to protect them from the storms of politics. Roosevelt tested the law when he fired a member of the Federal Trade Commission whose agenda did not match his own. In that case, the court ruled unanimously that the firing was illegal. Since then, the Supreme Court has chipped away at the precedent without completely overturning it. During the 1980s, the future chief justice, John Roberts, then a Reagan staffer, argued that the White House should control independent federal agencies. The argument, as Ann recently explained, was part of a push for more executive power under the so-called unitary executive theory, which says the president has absolute control over the executive branch. Under Roberts’s leadership, the court’s majority has moved in that direction. In 2020, during Trump’s first term, the justices said the president could fire the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau without cause because the agency has only one director. The F.T.C. has more than one leader, but the conservative justices signaled yesterday that because the agency has grown since the original ruling, its constitutional status may have changed. Roberts characterized the 1935 precedent as “a dried husk” of its former self, saying it was written for an earlier time when the commission wielded much less power. What lies ahead
The ruling, when it comes, could affect more than two dozen other agencies that protect consumers, workers, the environment and more. They’ve traditionally been insulated from presidential control. They include the National Labor Relations Board, the Merit Systems Protection Board and the Consumer Product Safety Commission — where Trump has also ousted Democratic leaders. (The Supreme Court let him do so while the cases make their way through lower courts.) Institutions run along partisan lines would be less likely to rule against a president’s priorities while adjudicating things like employee firings, antitrust cases and labor disputes. One caveat: Some justices have suggested that the coming decision will not affect the Federal Reserve, which helps manage the economy and which may require unique protections from presidential interference. Next month, though, the justices will consider whether the president can fire Lisa Cook, a Fed governor whom Trump has accused of mortgage fraud. And so we wait. For Adam Liptak, our legal affairs reporter, what loomed large over the argument was last year’s Supreme Court decision granting Trump substantial immunity from prosecution — meaning he can do pretty much what he wants as president and it’s not a crime. In the justices’ responses yesterday, Adam observed, “there has been repeated reference to that decision’s expansive vision of presidential power.” What Roosevelt wanted, in other words, Trump very well could get. Now, let’s see what else is happening in the world.
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When Japanese children have a milestone birthday, many go to a shrine. It’s a rite of passage called Shichi-Go-San, or 7-5-3, for kids turning those ages. Now, dogs are being honored, too. At some Shinto shrines, pets even outnumber children. Japan has one of the world’s lowest birthrates, but pet ownership is booming. A shrine in Tokyo now welcomes more than 350 pets for the ceremony each year, compared with about 50 children. Dog owners are splurging on wigs, amulets and tailor-made jackets for the occasion. See photos here.
A classified Pentagon report assessed how the U.S. would fare in a conflict with China. It was called the Overmatch brief. “The picture it paints is consistent and disturbing,” the editorial board writes. The brief traces a decades-long decline in America’s military dominance. Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, has said that in the Pentagon’s war games against China, “we lose every time.” When a senior Biden official received the Overmatch brief in 2021, he turned pale, according to one official who was present. The military must get smarter with its money to revitalize its capacity, the board argues. Read the first part of a series. Morning readers: Save on the complete Times experience. Experience all of The Times, all in one subscription — all with this introductory offer. You’ll gain unlimited access to news and analysis, plus games, recipes, product reviews and more.
Dining out: Discover the best new restaurants in New York City for 2025, including Sunn’s and Kabawa. Art in captivity: A Chinese artist, awaiting trial on slandering charges, is still creating work and sending it to his family. Your Pick: The Morning’s most-clicked link yesterday was about Katy Perry’s Instagram post that featured Justin Trudeau.
3— That is the age of the youngest rated chess player in history. Meet Sarwagya Singh Kushwaha of India.
Olympics: The Philippines, a country where snow has never fallen in recorded history, might make the Olympics in curling. The team is calling its journey “Curl Runnings.” N.B.A.: Terry Rozier, the Miami Heat guard charged with manipulating his performance to help gamblers, pleaded not guilty in federal court in Brooklyn.
Buy a rotisserie chicken on the way home and you’re halfway through this recipe for chicken enchiladas with salsa verde, which I learned to make in Houston, at the elbow of the great Tex-Mex scholar and restaurateur Robb Walsh. If you don’t want to roll the tortillas, make like the New Mexicans and stack them, or combine the salsa verde with the shredded chicken and use it as a filling for tacos. Do I judge you for using canned enchilada sauce instead of making your own? I do not. The one made by the Hatc |
