The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to allow the president to fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission, after lower courts ruled he lacks the authority to remove members of independent agencies without cause.

President Donald Trump moved to fire Rebecca Slaughter earlier this year, but lower courts ruled she could keep her job because the law only allows commissioners to be removed for issues such as misconduct or neglect of duty.

Earlier this week, an appeals court said Trump unlawfully fired Slaughter and that her firing was squarely at odds with Supreme Court precedent.

APPEALS COURT BLOCKS TRUMP FROM FIRING FTC COMMISSIONER IN CASE TESTING PRESIDENT'S REMOVAL POWERS

The Justice Department contends that the FTC and other executive branch agencies are under Trump’s control and that the president has the power to remove commissioners without cause.

The testing of the president’s removal power could lead the nation's highest court to consider overturning a 1935 Supreme Court decision known as Humphrey’s Executor, in which justices unanimously ruled that presidents cannot fire independent board members without cause.

The ruling brought in an era of powerful independent federal agencies charged with regulating labor relations, employment discrimination, the airwaves and other matters.

That case also centered around the FTC, which was highlighted by lower-court judges in the lawsuit filed by Slaughter, who has been fired and rehired multiple times this year as the case worked its way through the courts.

The FTC is a regulator created by Congress that enforces consumer protection measures and antitrust legislation. The agency's seats are typically made up of three members of the president’s party and two from the opposing party.

Slaughter was first appointed by Trump in 2018, and then later reappointed by former President Joe Biden. She is the only remaining Democrat on the FTC.

FTC FIRINGS TAKE SPOTLIGHT IN TRUMP'S FIGHT TO ERASE INDEPENDENCE OF AGENCIES

The high court has already allowed the removal of several other board members from independent agencies. 

The justices have also suggested that Trump's removal powers have limitations at the Federal Reserve, which could soon be tested as well in the case of Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump will deliver remarks Monday at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., during a high-profile hearing on religious liberty in education, a White House official confirmed to Fox News.

The speech coincides with the second meeting of the Religious Liberty Commission, a panel Trump created earlier this year through an executive order as part of his new White House faith office. 

The commission’s mission is to safeguard Americans’ ability to practice their religion freely, particularly in public education, and to identify what the administration calls "emerging threats" to First Amendment protections.

TRUMP ADMIN ISSUES NEW GUIDANCE TO PROTECT RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION ACROSS FEDERAL WORKFORCE

At Monday’s hearing, parents and students are expected to testify about their experiences of expressing their faith in public schools, with Attorney General Pam Bondi also scheduled to speak.

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a statement to Fox News: "The previous administration abused the federal government’s power to interfere with Americans’ First Amendment right to religious freedom. They even used the Department of Justice to target peaceful people of faith, specifically Christians." 

TRUMP GATHERS CEOS FOR UNPRECEDENTED FAITH, ECONOMY MEETING TO RENEW US 'SPIRITUALLY AND FINANCIALLY'

"This is exactly why President Trump established the Religious Liberty Commission — to stop the emerging threats against Americans’ inalienable right to practice their religion freely. President Trump is the greatest defender for people of faith in modern history and will continue to protect and promote America’s founding principle of religious freedom," Rogers concluded.

The event follows Trump’s second inaugural address earlier this year, when he framed his survival of the assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., as divine intervention, declaring, "I was saved by God to make America great again."

The renewed focus comes as courts and lawmakers continue to wrestle with religion in public schools. The Daily Wire first reported the White House’s plans for the hearing.

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The event is anticipated to spotlight President Trump’s continued effort to make religious freedom a defining issue of his presidency and re-election narrative, placing emphasis on faith in God as a cornerstone of American life.