1. United States
2. Iowa
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to oppose—by every lawful means—any effort to dismantle the independence of federal regulatory agencies by allowing the President to remove independent watchdogs at will. The Supreme Court’s handling of Trump v. Slaughter signals a willingness to abandon nearly a century of settled law under Humphrey’s Executor (1935), which protects independent regulators from political firing. Overturning or hollowing out that precedent would erase the independence of agencies Congress created to protect consumers, workers, competition, public health, and the environment. This is not a narrow legal dispute. It is a structural shift of power. Allowing one president sweeping control over the federal bureaucracy while reserving judicial power to block future administrations through doctrines like “major questions” is not checks and balances—it is selective governance. It risks replacing expertise with loyalty and democratic accountability with judicial dominance. Congress has both the authority and the responsibility to act. I urge you to: • Reaffirm statutory “for-cause” removal protections for independent agencies • Use appropriations authority to block politically motivated removals • Hold oversight hearings on threats to agency independence • Defend Congress’s Article I power through legislation and court filings Independent agencies exist because history proved the danger of unchecked executive power. Weakening them now would put corporate influence above public protection and destabilize the constitutional balance. I ask you to stand up for Congress’s role, democratic accountability, and the rule of law—before these guardrails are permanently dismantled.