Douglas V. Gibbs ——Bio and Archives--January 18, 2026

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The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear the Trump v. Slaughter case, which revolves around the constitutional concept of separation of powers; a constitutional concept not seen anywhere else in the world. The United States Constitution established three branches of government through Articles I, II, and III. Each branch is “vested” with its own powers, a word that signals the principle of separation of powers. This design ensures that the legislative, executive, and judicial branches operate independently, except where the Constitution explicitly authorizes overlap.

President Trump is the head of the executive branch, and as the chief executive, possesses all powers over the agencies under the executive branch. However, over time Congress has established agencies considered “independent” of the executive branch’s control. The argument is that by ruling in favor of President Trump, such a ruling could destroy the structure of government, giving the President “near-unlimited power” over agencies traditionally insulated from politics. Such a decision would also sharply reduce Congress’s ability to create insulated regulatory........

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