Mail Ballot Ruling
Supreme Court Upholds Mail Ballot Laws and Presidential Authority on Federal Firings
The Supreme Court handed down a split decision on June 29, blocking President Trump from immediately firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook while giving him broad new power to remove heads of other independent agencies. The 5-4 ruling in favor of Cook was written by Chief Justice John Roberts, who warned that accepting Trump's move "would in effect transform the Federal Reserve's for-cause protection into at-will employment," according to AP News.
In a separate 6-3 ruling the same day, the court upheld Trump's firing of Democratic FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter and expanded presidential power over other independent agencies. The decisions came alongside a ballot-counting ruling and a new diplomatic development involving Iran.
Fed Governor Cook Keeps Her Job, For Now
Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the Federal Reserve Board, was fired by Trump via social media on August 20, 2025. He accused her of mortgage fraud. She denies the charges, calling them "unsubstantiated," according to The Guardian. A federal judge had already blocked the firing in September 2025, and the Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling keeps that block in place.
The Federal Reserve Act gives governors "for cause" protection, meaning a president needs a real legal reason to remove them. Roberts said Trump's fraud allegations did not meet that bar. Scott Alvarez, a former Fed general counsel, called the ruling "a big deal" for market stability, telling Bloomberg it keeps the Fed out of White House political control.
Trump Gains Sweeping Power Over Other Federal Agencies
While Cook survived, the court's 6-3 ruling in Trump v. Slaughter was a major win for executive power. The decision lets Trump fire commissioners at agencies like the FTC and NLRB without giving a specific legal cause. This effectively ends the era of truly independent federal commissions, according to PBS News.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in dissent that the ruling "promises only chaos" by stripping independence from agencies that oversee labor, consumer safety, and fair trade, as reported by CNN. Justice Clarence Thomas, in contrast, argued that the president has full constitutional authority to remove executive officers at will.
Mail-In Ballot Grace Periods Survive Legal Challenge
In a third major ruling, the court voted 5-4 to uphold laws in roughly 30 states and Washington D.C. that allow mailed ballots to be counted after Election Day, as long as they are postmarked by Election Day. Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for the majority that "the election-day statutes do not set a deadline for ballot receipt," according to CBS News.
The challenge was brought by the Republican National Committee and was part of Trump's broader push to limit mail-in voting. Trump has claimed mail balloting "breeds fraud," though experts have found no evidence of widespread abuse. The ruling protects ballots from military, overseas, and rural voters who often rely on the mail, according to Votebeat.
U.S. and Iran Send Delegations to Qatar Amid Denial of Talks
On the evening of June 29, both the U.S. and Iran announced they were sending delegations to Doha, Qatar. Senior U.S. advisors Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were among those traveling, according to Yahoo News. The move came after the two countries met in Switzerland on June 21 to discuss maritime stability in the Persian Gulf.
Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei denied that Tehran had agreed to meet with the U.S. "at any level" in Doha, according to The Hindu. Analysts say the Doha talks may be aimed at finalizing a deal to release $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets in exchange for stability in the Strait of Hormuz, per NPR.
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