Democratic commissioners assert they were unlawfully terminated by FTC authorities.
Trump Unleashes Firestorm with Illegal Dismissals of Federal Trade Commissioners
In a bold move that's stirring up a legal storm and raising eyebrows, President Donald Trump dumped two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday. The hounded commissioners are none other than Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, and they're screaming "illegal" at the top of their lungs.
Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya took to X in a scathing ramble post-dismissal, spitting out: "I'm a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission. The president just illegally fired me." He didn't hold back, slamming the administration for aiming to turn the FTC into a frothing lapdog for trump's golfing cronies.
In a separate statement via email, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter was just as bold: "The President illegally fired me from my position as a Federal Trade Commissioner, violating the plain language of a statute and clear Supreme Court precedent." She added, "He's afraid of what I'll tell the American people."
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) -- a 111-year-old agency tasked with consumer protection and antitrust enforcement -- has been a thorn in the side of big businesses under Chair Lina Khan. Under the Biden administration, the FTC has launched beefy cases, such as the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger and Kroger's acquisition of Albertsons. The commission is made up of five commissioners, with no more than three from the same party.
Trump's latest move is yet another example of the administration's war on independent watchdogs and regulatory bodies in Washington. Over the years, the Trump administration has been chipping away at the power and effectiveness of financial watchdogs like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau -- a move that was a direct response to a banking meltdown and the 2008 global financial crisis.
"Whether you're a Republican, Democrat, or so disgusted with Washington you can barely watch the news, the FTC has worked for you," Bedoya wrote in his post. As a White House official confirmed the dismissals, we're Bracing ourselves for more fireworks.
Donald Judd contributed to reporting.
The firings of Bedoya and Slaughter have been challenged on legal grounds, with questions being raised about the authority of the president to remove members of independent agencies. The dismissals are seen as a challenge to long-standing legal precedents, notably the 1926 Supreme Court case Humphrey's Executor v. United States, which established that a president cannot unilaterally remove officials from independent agencies except for specific reasons like dereliction of duty or wrongdoing. Both commissioners have expressed concerns about the implications for the rule of law and the independence of federal agencies and are expected to sue over their dismissals.
- The fired commissioners, Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, have expressed their concerns about the president's actions, with Commissioner Bedoya referring to the administration as aiming to turn the Federal Trade Commission into a frothing lapdog for Trump's golfing cronies.
- The dismissals of Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter have been challenged on legal grounds, with questions being raised about the president's authority to remove members of independent agencies, and concerns about the implications for the rule of law and the independence of federal agencies.
- The firings of Bedoya and Slaughter are seen as another example of the Trump administration's war on independent watchdogs, mirroring the administration's past actions in chipping away at the power and effectiveness of financial watchdogs like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
