Vol. 41, No. 17
11/01/2025
Humphrey’s Executor and the “Fourth Branch” of Government
AT A GLANCE
• The 1935 Supreme Court decision Humphrey’s Executor v. United States created an unconstitutional category of government power.
• Ever since, unelected bureaucrats have exercised quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial powers in “independent” agencies.
• A Supreme Court justice rightly called it “a headless fourth branch of the Government.”
• After 90 years, there’s now a realistic chance this monstrosity will be demolished.
In 1935, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, a case that forever altered the constitutional architecture of our Republic. At issue was whether President Franklin D. Roosevelt could remove a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), William E. Humphrey, simply because he disagreed with Humphrey’s policies.
Roosevelt, drunk on New Deal ambition, demanded total loyalty from every corner of the federal government. Humphrey, an appointee of Calvin Coolidge, resisted Roosevelt’s radical plans to centralize economic power. For this disobedience, Roosevelt fired him. But the law creating the FTC had explicitly stated that commissioners could only be removed for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office” (15 U.S.C. §41). Roosevelt’s reason — political disagreement — did not qualify.
Humphrey sued for his salary, but died while the case was pending. His executor carried on the lawsuit, and the case reached the Supreme Court. In a unanimous decision, the Court sided against the president. With this ruling, the Court announced that Congress could create “independent” agencies whose officers were beyond the president’s removal power.
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The full article includes detailed analysis of Massie's legislative strategy, exclusive quotes from the interview, and insider information about upcoming votes.
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