President Trump fired two Democrats from the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday. This rejected the traditional refusal of independence by corporate regulators, which could clear the path to the administration's agenda.
The White House told Democrats Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya that the president is ending their role. FTCs that enforce consumer protection and antitrust laws typically have five members.
The FTC and other independent regulatory commission members are protected from removal under the Supreme Court precedent of 1935, and the president says they cannot fire them just because of policy disagreements. Slaughter and Bedya said they plan to challenge Trump's decision before the court.
“Today, the President illegally fired me from my position as a federal trade commissioner, violating the law and clear Supreme Court precedent,” Trump said in a statement that he nominated the FTC for his first term in 2018. “Why? Because I have a voice. And he's afraid I'll tell Americans.”
In an interview, Bedoya, who became a commissioner three years ago, said he was worried that the FTC, which had no independence from the president, would be affected by the whims of Trump's business world allies.
“When people hear this news, they don't need to think about me,” he said. “They need to think about the billionaire behind the president when he takes office.”
The shooting is Trump's latest attempt to assert presidency over independent regulators of agencies within the US government, including those that Congress was established to become independent from direct White House control. Although regulators are appointed by the president, many of them have traditionally maintained a wide latitude to determine the orientation of their institutions.
But the Trump administration has ignored their traditional protections.
“I am writing to let you know that you have been removed from the Federal Trade Commission, and it will take effect immediately,” said a letter sent to one of the commissioners reviewed by the New York Times. “The ongoing service at the FTC is inconsistent with my administration's priorities.”
FTC Republican Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a statement Tuesday that the agency continued to protect consumers but supported the power to fire Trump's commissioners.
“President Donald J. Trump is the head of the administrative division and is given all the enforcement of the government,” Ferguson said. “There is no doubt about his constitutional authority to eliminate the commissioners needed to ensure democratic accountability for our government.”
A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The shooting called for greater powers over the FTC, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Communications Commission and the National Labor Relations Commission, following an executive order from Trump last month.
The order required independent agencies to submit proposed regulations to the White House for review, claiming their authority to block funding for projects or efforts that are inconsistent with the President's priorities, and declared that they must accept binding interpretations of the President's and Department of Justice's law.
In January, Trump fired Gwyn A. Wilcox. Gwyn A. Wilcox is an NLRB Democrat who she sued to challenge the fire, and the judge resurrected her earlier this month. The administration appealed the ruling.
The Justice Department does not plan to defend itself as a precedent exclusively for constitutional regulators, according to a February 12 letter sent to Sen. Richard J. Durbin, a Democrat, on behalf of deputy Attorney General Sarah M. Harris. According to a letter first reported by Reuters, the analysis of the department applies to the FTC, NLRB and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
A letter sent on Tuesday to one of the FTC commissioners on behalf of Trump, reiterated his position. The Supreme Court's protections are not compatible with “the key officers leading the FTC today,” the letter said.
Rebecca Horesworth, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School who studies antitrust, said in 1914 the FTC was established as an independent institution.
“To present political employment and firing ideas will really help to undermine both what the FTC can do and its legitimacy as a bipartisan institution,” she said.
Business executives and their advisors are closely watching the FTC's direction under the new chairman, Ferguson. During the Biden administration, the FTC sued to block corporate mergers, actively punishing businesses for failings in user privacy, and filed lawsuits accusing Amazon of narrowing down small businesses. During the April trial, it is set to face off against Meta as it scrutinizes the social media company's strategies to secure its advantage by acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp.
Slaughter and Bedya have consistently voted in favor of actions to curb the power of the tech giant.
After Trump nominated the Massacre to the majority candidate committee in 2018, he filled his expired term, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. nominated a seven-year term in February 2023.
Bedoya, former director of Georgetown University and Senate Aides' High-Tech and Privacy Centre, joined the FTC in May 2022 after Biden appointed him.
In an interview, Bedoya said she learned of Trump's decision when she received a call from Slaughter during her daughter's gymnastics class.
“He's trying to fire me,” Bedoya said. “I'm still a commissioner for the FTC and I'm going to court to make sure it's clear to everyone.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, called the shootings “outrageous” and “illegal” and warned that the actions would harm consumers. She said the agency's orders regarding practices such as hidden fees and junk fees have returned $330 million to consumers.
“Unlawfully obstructing the committee will empower fraudsters and monopolies, and consumers will pay a price,” said Klobuchar, who serves the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust and Consumer Rights.
