Kagan disagreed with the other justices who voted in favor of Trump, citing 90 years of precedent with Humphrey's Executor v. United States, which she said "undergirds a significant feature of American governance: Bipartisan administrative bodies carrying out expertise-based functions with a measure of independence from presidential control."

The court’s action essentially extended an order Chief Justice John Roberts issued in April that had the effect of removing two board members who Trump fired from agencies that deal with labor issues, including one with a key role for federal workers as Trump aims to drastically downsize the workforce.