President Donald Trump’s purge at independent agencies is putting a target on a nearly 100-year-old Supreme Court precedent that protects certain officials from the political whims of the White House.

The whirlwind of unilateral action on his campaign promises has pushed the limits of presidential power – and prompted legal challenges from Democrats, unions and legal groups. So far the federal courts have been the only substantive roadblocks to Trump's agenda,

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said Tuesday that court decisions “stand whether one particular person chooses to abide by them or not,” days after two of President Donald Trump’s top lieutenants attacked rulings that halted some of his contentious executive orders.