The new President has been in office for less than a week, yet the first shots in a massive, unprecedented constitutional battle are already being fired.
Sources deep within the West Wing have confirmed to White House News that the administration is planning a swift and ruthless purge of top personnel across some of the federal government's most critical "independent" agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
This isn't about routine replacement of commissioners whose terms have expired. This is a direct, legally aggressive challenge to the foundational independence of these bodies, designed to immediately reshape the regulatory landscape in finance, technology, and media. The move tests the very limits of executive power and signals a radical departure from established legal norms.
📜 The Illusion of Independence: A Legal Gray Area
The independent regulatory agencies—like the FTC, FCC, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)—were established by Congress specifically to be insulated from the political whims of the Oval Office. Their leaders are typically appointed for fixed terms, and decades of legal precedent, dating back to the 1930s, suggest a President can only remove them for "inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office." They cannot be fired simply for political disagreement.
However, the new administration’s legal counsel is reportedly employing a bold, controversial strategy: arguing that the constitutional language granting the President vast Article II executive power overrides the statutory limits Congress attempted to place on these agencies.
"They view any board or commission that wields significant executive authority as fundamentally an extension of the presidency," explains a constitutional scholar who was consulted by the transition team but later distanced themselves from the plan. "They believe if they can't control the agency, they can't effectively execute the law. Therefore, the removal protections are unconstitutional."
🎯 The Target List: Why These Agencies Matter Now
The internal target list obtained by White House News is a who’s who of high-profile regulators known for their aggressive stance against corporate monopolies, conservative media deregulation, and consumer financial risks.
- The FTC Commissioners: The agency has been at the forefront of antitrust cases against major tech firms. Removing its sitting members immediately stalls several high-profile legal battles and signals to Big Tech that the era of scrutiny may be over. The President is reportedly preparing to name a new slate of appointees who favor industry consolidation.
- The FCC Directors: The fate of media ownership rules and network neutrality hangs in the balance. The removal of sitting Democrats would instantly flip the commission majority, allowing the administration to push through a deregulatory agenda that critics say will consolidate media power into the hands of a few sympathetic entities.
- The CFPB Director (If Not Already Targeted): While the Supreme Court recently granted the President the power to fire the CFPB Director, the administration is reportedly using the CFPB ruling as a blueprint to apply similar removal theories to other agencies like the FTC, where the legal footing is far shakier.
⚔️ The Coming Constitutional Crisis
Should the President move forward with the firings—which are expected to begin as early as next week—the response will be immediate and seismic.
The removed officials are prepared to sue for wrongful dismissal, triggering a constitutional showdown that could quickly reach the Supreme Court. The legal battle would not only determine the professional fate of a few dozen regulators but fundamentally redefine the balance of power between the White House and Congress for a generation.
The stakes are enormous. If the administration succeeds, the concept of the independent, apolitical agency—a cornerstone of the modern U.S. government—will be rendered effectively meaningless. Every future administration would be empowered to instantly dismantle the regulatory structures built by their predecessors simply by replacing the personnel.
This is more than just a policy disagreement; it is a battle for the structural integrity of the American regulatory state. The "firing squad" has been assembled, and its targets are the very checks and balances designed to curb unchecked executive power.
White House News is closely monitoring developments and tracking which specific removal orders are drafted first. The coming weeks will determine whether the President can successfully bypass Congress to assert total control over the executive branch.