Elena Kagan Questions Trump Lawyer on Agency Impact in Supreme Court Case

Judicial Scrutiny of Agency Structure

• ⚖️ Justice Kagan questioned the implications of a ruling that could impact agencies with a significant portion of judicial functions but also executive duties.
• 💡 The core of the question revolved around whether a principle could be applied to sever the smaller executive tail from the larger judicial functions of an agency.

Severability and Constitutional Structure

• 🏛️ The Trump lawyer suggested that such a scenario might present a unique severability question, distinct from the merits of the case.
• 🎯 For most multi-member executive agencies, the argument is that they are clearly exercising executive power and thus would be subject to restoration to "democratic accountability and the constitutional structure."

Inferior Officers and Executive Power

• 👤 The discussion extended to inferior officers, with Kagan probing whether restrictions on them would also need to be addressed, given the logic of the Meyer case.
• ⚠️ The lawyer acknowledged that restrictions on inferior officers wielding executive power would be problematic, as Meyer logic extends to them.

Civil Service Laws and Employee Protections

• 📜 Kagan pressed the lawyer on the broader implications for civil service laws and employee protections, which have existed for over a century.
• 🔑 The lawyer cited exceptions within the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA) that provide no judicial relief for certain classes of employees, including presidentially appointed officers and those with substantial policy or confidential responsibilities.