The two Democratic members of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission fired by President Donald Trump sued to be reinstated, setting up a challenge to a 90-year-old Supreme Court case limiting the White House’s authority over independent agencies — including the Federal Reserve.

Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya argue their March 18 terminations from the agency were illegal under federal law. In a complaint filed Thursday in Washington, D.C., federal court, they are also seeking a ruling that they can only be fired for cause.

“The president’s action is indefensible under governing law,” Slaughter and Bedoya said in their complaint, which names Trump, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, Commissioner Melissa Holyoak and the agency’s executive director, David Robbins, as defendants.

Bedoya and Slaughter’s suit would give the high court a direct opportunity to reconsider a 1935 Supreme Court case which upheld job protections Congress created to shield FTC commissioners from being fired, except in cases of “neglect or malfeasance.” .

The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rate on a 30-year mortgage dips

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell to 6.65% from 6.67% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.79%.

This is the first decline in the average rate after rising two weeks in a row. The average rate has trended lower since mid-January, when it climbed to just over 7% — a relief for house hunters struggling to afford a home after years of soaring prices.

Borrowing costs on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages rose to 5.89% from 5.83% last week. A year ago, it averaged 6.11%, Freddie Mac said.

23andMe’s DNA data gets sale nod

Bankrupt genetic testing firm 23andMe Holding Co. won permission from a judge to try to sell information about customers’ medical and ancestry-related data, a trove that is considered the most valuable asset in the insolvency case and has become a source of privacy and safety concerns amid the company’s collapse.

Shares in the company surged on the news, jumping as much as 158% as investors speculated that the bankruptcy could bring in enough cash to pay them something once all of 23andMe’s debts are paid. Under bankruptcy rules, any sale would need to bring in more than the company owes creditors at least $214 million before anything could be paid to shareholders.

Under the sale procedures, the company set quick deadlines for potential bidders, including May 7 when definitive offers are due, and a final hearing the following month.

Jobless claims hold steady

U.S. applications for unemployment benefits held steady last week, a sign that the labor market remains healthy as companies continue to retain their employees.

Jobless claim filings ticked down by 1,000 to 224,000 for the week ending March 22, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s mostly in line with the 225,000 new applications analysts forecast.

Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs, and have remained mostly in a range between 200,000 and 250,000 for the past few years.

It remains unclear when job cuts ordered by the Department of Government Efficiency, or “DOGE,” will show up in the weekly layoffs report, though the Labor Department’s February jobs report showed that the federal government shed 10,000 jobs. That’s the most since June of 2022.

Compiled from Bloomberg and Associated Press reports.