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The U.S. Supreme Court sided again on Monday with Donald Trump, allowing the Republican president to fire a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commissionfor nowdespite Congress providing job protections for this post. The court blocked an order by Washington-based U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan that had shielded Rebecca Slaughter, who had sued to challenge Trump’s action, from being dismissed from the consumer protection and antitrust agency prior to her term expiring. The Supreme Court also announced on Monday that it will hear arguments in the case in December. The court has a 6-3 conservative majority. Its three liberal justices dissented from Monday’s order letting Trump remove Slaughter for now. Chief Justice John Roberts on September 8 had paused AliKhan’s orderallowing Trump to keep Slaughter out of her postto give the court more time to consider the administration’s request concerning the judge’s order. The dispute centers on Trump’s power to dismiss government agency heads covered by removal protections that Congress put in place to give certain agencies a degree of independence from presidential control. Federal law permits a president to remove FTC commissioners only for causesuch as inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in officebut not for policy differences. Similar protections cover officials at other independent agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board. Slaughter was one of two Democratic commissioners who Trump moved to fire in March. The firings drew sharp criticism from Democratic senators and antimonopoly groups concerned that the move was designed to eliminate opposition within the agency to big corporations. AliKhan in July blocked Trump’s firing of Slaughter, rejecting the Trump administration’s argument that the tenure protections unlawfully encroach on presidential power. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on September 2 in a 2-1 decision kept the judge’s ruling in place. The lower courts ruled that the statutory protections shielding FTC members from being removed without cause conform with the U.S. Constitution in light of a 1935 Supreme Court precedent in a case called Humphrey’s Executor v. United States. In that case, the court ruled that a president lacks unfettered power to remove FTC commissioners, faulting then-President Franklin Roosevelt’s firing of an FTC commissioner for policy differences. The Trump administration in its Supreme Court filing in Slaughter’s case argued that “the modern FTC exercises far more substantial powers than the 1935 FTC,” and thus its members can be fired at will by the president. ‘A story of continuity’ Lawyers for Slaughter in court papers pushed back against that contention, arguing that the FTC’s development over the decades is “a story of continuity, not transformation.” “As both courts below found and numerous courts have agreed, the FTC has not ‘outgrown’ Humphrey’s Executor,” they wrote. In May, the Supreme Court allowed Trump’s dismissals at the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Boarddespite the job protections for these postswhile litigation challenging those removals proceeded. The court in that ruling said the Constitution gives the president wide latitude to fire government officials who wield executive power on his behalf, and that the administration “is likely to show that both the NLRB and MSPB exercise considerable executive power.” Citing that rationale in July, the court also allowed Trump to remove three Democratic members of the U.S. government’s top consumer product safety watchdog while a legal challenge to their removal proceeds. The dissenting liberal justices on Monday criticized the court’s majority for allowing Trump to fire Slaughteras well as other members of independent agencieswithout cause, despite Supreme Court precedent restricting the president’s ability to do so. “Yet the majority, stay order by stay order, has handed full control of all those agencies to the President. He may now removeso says the majority, though Congress said differentlyany member he wishes, for any reason or no reason at all. And he may thereby extinguish the agencies’ bipartisanship and independence,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the three liberals. The administration has repeatedly asked the Supreme Court to allow implementation of Trump policies impeded by lower courts. The Supreme Court has sided with the administration in almost every case that it has been called upon to review since Trump returned to the presidency in January. Trump’s administration also asked the Supreme Court last Thursday to let him move ahead with firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cooka move without precedent since the central bank’s founding in 1913in a legal battle that could imperil the Fed’s independence. Since the removal of Slaughter and her fellow Democratic commissioner in March, the FTC has operated for most of that time with three Republicans and no Democratic members. The agency has pursued conservative agenda items in recent months, including holding a workshop on what it called the dangers of gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth. The FTC warned Google that filtering Republican fundraising emails as spam could be unlawful and sought to investigate media watchdogs accused by Elon Musk of helping orchestrate advertiser boycotts of his social media platform X. John Kruzel, Reuters
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E-Commerce
Salad and Go, a chain of salad restaurants that are popular in the west and Southwest, has just closed 41 locations in two states. Known for hearty bowls like the southwest harvest and fajita salads, the chain stands out thanks to its bright orange branding and menu items that are chock-full of quality ingredients. Unfortunately, it seems that it might have over-expanded since its founding in 2013 in Gilbert, Arizona. The closures are taking place in Texas and Oklahoma, but both of those states will still have open stores, Salad and Go said. Locations in Arizona and Nevada will remain open as well. Which Salad and Go locations are closing? According to the company, the following locations have closed as of Friday, September 19: Texas: 14909 Coit Rd, Dallas, TX 75248 12556 N Beach St, Fort Worth, TX 76244 8900 N Tarrant Pkwy, North Richland Hills, TX 76182 4620 W University Dr, Prosper, TX 75078 9500 Summer Creek Dr, Crowley, TX 76036 4509 W Bailey Boswell Rd, Fort Worth, TX 76179 3064 N Goliad St, Rockwall, TX 75087 355 Lebanon Road, Frisco, TX 75034 11150 US 380, Cross Roads, TX 76227 830 SW Wilshire Blvd, Burleson, TX 76028 3401 Midway Rd, Plano, TX 75093 1102 W Main St, Lewisville, TX 75067 1460 S Ferguson Pkwy, Anna, TX 75409 1201 Flower Mound Road, Flower Mound, TX 75028 430 S FM 548, Forney, TX, 75126 3416 TX-114 Fort Worth, TX 76177 2120 Rio Grande Blvd, Euless, TX 76039 822 W Princeton Dr., Princeton, TX 75047 Oklahoma: 6501 N May Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73116 2325 E 71st Street, Tulsa, OK 74136 11360 East 96th Street N, Owasso, OK 74055 ‘This moment is difficult’ The bigger takeaway is perhaps that the chain was able to maintain a presence in its most popular areasand CEO Mike Tattersfield seems hopeful about the future. In a statement to Fast Company, Tattersfield explained that while the closures represent a very difficult decision because it impacts team members who have shown extraordinary passion and commitment in serving our guests, they also provide the chain with the opportunity to further invest in the locations that are performing well. Concentrating our efforts will allow us to strengthen the brand and invest more in improving quality, driving innovation and building community, Tattersfield said in the statement. While this moment is difficult, we know the change will ultimately give us the foundation we need to grow stronger and make delicious, nutritious food accessible to all. A number of specialty food chains have scaled back their physical footprints this year as foot traffic at quick-service restaurants has slumped. In 2024, former Salad and Go CEO Charlie Morrison spoke to CNBC about his goals for the company, which resulted in him more than doubling the number of Salad and Go locations. Consumers have remained price conscious more broadly, with many dining out less. Sweetgreen, a larger and pricier competitor to Salad and Go, saw its same-store sales drop 7.6% in the second quarter of this year after falling 3.1% in the quarter before that. While Salad and Go had been able to keep much of its overhead costs low due to the fact that it didnt have industrial kitchen equipment on-site, its low $7 target price point for the salads appears to come with its own set of challenges.
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E-Commerce
NikeSkims was designed to sweat in. Nike announced Monday that its new brand for women created in partnership with the Kim Kardashian co-founded Skims will launch on September 26, and the brand tapped top professional and college athletes to show it off. [Photo: Nike] In a short film called Bodies at Work directed by filmmaker Janicza Bravo, stars like Serena Williams, Sha’Carri Richardson, and Chloe Kim, make cameos alongside Kardashian and athletes from USC and UCLA. With shots showing Williams working out with battle ropes, Kardashian jumping rope, and women lifting weights, it’s clear this is a brand that’s being sold as athleisure that’s meant to be worn at coffee runs and the gym. [Photos: Nike] NikeSkims will feature seven collections of activewear, including the mid-level compression Matte collection and the breathable, mesh-inspired knit Airy collection, along with seasonal releases. Williams says it “feels like butter on your skin.” There are leggings, biking shorts, sports bras, and more. NikeSkims says all together, the apparel can be worn 10,000 different ways. [Photos: Nike] “Our mission is simple: to redefine the rules of women’s activewear,” Kardashian said in a statement. “No more compromises. We’re combining high-performance innovation with sexy, style-forward design for all women who demand both.” [Photo: Nike] The brand represents the biggest partnership yet for Skims since Kardashian founded the brand in 2019 with CEO Jens Grede. It comes after collabs with the likes of Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, and North Face. For Nike, the company benefits from Skims star power as it seeks to right course. [Photo: Nike] Nike reported a 12% decline in fourth-quarter revenue in its June earnings call and CEO Elliott Hill characterized NikeSkims as a growth play. The brand, he said, was the results of identifying “a consumer need and are creating a new market of style-led product that sculpts and performs.” By mashing up Nike’s performance and legacy with the Skims style and brand, NikeSkims is building a new market category that it can define and own on its own terms. [Photo: Nike]
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E-Commerce
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