June 29, 2026 — Timeline — Standing Record

Jun 29

SCOTUS 6-3 overturned Humphrey's Executor, holding presidents may fire independent agency commissioners at will

On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court overturned Humphrey's Executor v. United States (1935) in a 6-3 ruling authored by Chief Justice Roberts in Trump v. Slaughter, holding that President Trump's firing of FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter without cause was constitutional. The ruling makes Congress's statutory for-cause removal protections for independent agency commissioners — including at the FTC, NLRB, EEOC, MSPB, and CPSC — unenforceable. A separate 5-4 ruling in Trump v. Cook temporarily blocked Trump from removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, carving out a partial exception for the Fed.

Jun 29

Interior paid Duke Energy $129 million to terminate its Carolina Long Bay offshore wind lease

On June 29, 2026, the Department of the Interior announced a settlement agreement with Duke Energy under which Duke voluntarily terminated its offshore wind lease in the Carolina Long Bay area — 22 miles off southeastern North Carolina — in exchange for $129 million in federal compensation. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the deal advances President Trump's energy agenda, and Duke Energy said it would redirect the funds toward nuclear and natural gas generation. The agreement is the fourth offshore wind lease termination brokered by the Trump administration, bringing total federal wind lease buyout payments to more than $2.75 billion.

Jun 29

ICE detained and handcuffed Sister Leticia Ugboaja, a Catholic nun, walking to Sunday Mass in McAllen, Texas

On June 29, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Sister Leticia "Letty" Ugboaja, a 56-year-old Nigerian nun and member of the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy, as she walked one block from her home to Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church for Sunday Mass. ICE transferred her to the El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville and denied her access to medication. She was released the same evening after Reps. Monica De La Cruz and Henry Cuellar intervened with DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

Jun 29

John Yoo confirmed he would advise the diGenova DOJ probe targeting former officials from the Trump–Russia investigation

On June 29, 2026, John Yoo — a UC Berkeley law professor and former Bush administration Justice Department official who authored the so-called torture memos authorizing enhanced interrogation — confirmed he would advise the probe led by Joseph diGenova, who was assigned in April 2026 as Counselor to the Attorney General to investigate whether officials who scrutinized Trump participated in a criminal conspiracy. DiGenova's investigation, conducted from the Southern District of Florida, focuses on former DOJ and FBI officials who led the inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.