Myers v. United States
| Myers v. United States | |
|---|---|
| Argued December 5, 1923 Reargued April 13–14, 1925 Decided October 25, 1926 | |
| Full case name | Frank S. Myers, Administratrix v. United States |
| Citations | 272 U.S. 52 (more) 47 S. Ct. 21; 71 L. Ed. 160; 1926 U.S. LEXIS 35 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Appeal from the Court of Claims |
| Holding | |
| The President has the exclusive authority to remove "administrative officers" and the Take Care Clause generally limits Congress from restricting this power. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Taft, joined by Van Devanter, Sutherland, Butler, Sanford, Stone |
| Dissent | Holmes |
| Dissent | McReynolds |
| Dissent | Brandeis |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. art. II, § 2, cl. 2 | |
Myers v. United States, 272 U.S. 52 (1926), was a United States Supreme Court decision ruling that the President's exclusive power to remove executive branch officials is vested in the Office of the Presidency by Article Two of the United States Constitution, and the Take Care Clause generally limits Congress from restricting this power.
Myers was the first Supreme Court case to invalidate a federal law for violating the separation of powers by allowing Congress to "participate in the exercise of [the removal power]". The Taft Court's broad view of the President's "constitutional duty of seeing that the laws be faithfully executed" was limited in subsequent decisions to "purely executive" offices.
In Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2020), the Supreme Court interpreted Humphrey's as recognizing an exception for independent (multimember, non-partisan) agencies, and reaffirming the core holding of Myers that the President generally has an unencumbered removal power.