Central News Agency (CNA Washington, June 29 - Compiled from foreign reports) The U.S. Supreme Court today issued two rulings. One acknowledges the President's authority to dismiss officials of independent regulatory agencies for any reason, while another explicitly upholds the independence of the Federal Reserve, stating that Fed officials cannot be arbitrarily removed. According to The New York Times, in the case of President Trump's dismissal of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Democratic commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, nine justices ruled 6-3 in favor of the president's dismissal power, with three liberal justices dissenting. Slaughter frequently clashed with Trump's policy direction. This ruling effectively expands presidential power and could lead to significant changes in the government structure, as it would allow the president to intervene more directly in independent agencies. However, in another case involving Trump's dismissal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, the justices ruled 5-4 that Trump could not dismiss Cook based on unproven mortgage fraud allegations, nor could he dismiss her without giving her an opportunity to respond. Trump dismissed Cook at a time when he was pressuring the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. The Washington Post noted that in the Slaughter case ruling, the justices essentially overturned a historical precedent of nearly a century, which granted Congress oversight power by requiring the president to have sufficient cause to dismiss officials of independent regulatory agencies. The ruling in the Slaughter case aligns with the long-held argument of conservatives that the president should have unrestricted power over the executive branch, affecting the heads of over 20 federal agencies. However, in the Cook case ruling, the justices prevented the president from exerting greater control over the U.S. central bank. The Wall Street Journal reported that Chief Justice John Roberts authored both opinions. In the Cook c