“You’re asking us to destroy the structure of government and to take away from Congress its ability to protect its idea that the government is better structured with some agencies that are independent,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor told Solicitor General D. John Sauer during arguments in a case challenging the firing earlier this year of Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, a member of the Federal Trade Commission.
“Where else have we so fundamentally altered the structure of government?”
volkris
in reply to Imogen • • •No, that's backwards.
Congress has no authority over the executive branch to create such protections in the first place. It would be in violation of separation of powers among co-equal branches. It would put Congress above the other branch.
So no, it's not about destroying the structure of government and taking away power, it's about recognizing the structure of government and the limits of power.
Sotomayor really doesn't understand the structure of the federal government, and that's a shame.