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  "description": "A federal judge reversed a similar attempt by Trump, and an FTC lawsuit might be next.\n",
  "path": "/terminated-ftc-democrats-vow-to-take-trump-to-court/",
  "publishedAt": "2025-03-19T19:45:17.000Z",
  "site": "https://broadbandbreakfast.com",
  "tags": [
    "_removed from the commission’s web site_",
    "_with the _New York Times__",
    "_in _Humphrey’s Executor v. United States__",
    "_a Feb.12 letter_",
    "_in a release_",
    "_in a LinkedIn post_",
    "_a post to X_",
    "_his X feed_",
    "_Colorado's Joint House and Senate Judiciary Committee_",
    "_16 CFR 4.14(b)_",
    "_Trump's third Republican FTC pick_"
  ],
  "textContent": "WASHINGTON, March 19, 2025 – Two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission have vowed to take President **Donald Trump** to court after Trump said he had fired them on Tuesday, calling the move illegal and a direct violation of Supreme Court precedent.\n\nAs of Wednesday, the bios of the two Democrats, **Rebecca Kelly Slaughter** and **Alvaro Bedoya** , had been _removed from the commission’s web site_.\n\nThe normally five-member commission has been left with just two Republican commissioners — Chairman**Andrew Ferguson** and Commissioner**Melissa Holyoak.**\n\nThe White House, in letters sent to both Slaughter and Bedoya, justified the decision, saying: “Your continued service on the FTC is inconsistent with my administration’s priorities.”\n\nIn an interview _with the _New York Times__, Bedoya made clear that he would not accept his removal. “He’s trying to fire me. I am still an FTC commissioner, and I am going to go to court to make sure that’s clear to everybody.” Major news outlets have also reported Slaughter intends to challenge her removal.\n\nLegal experts quickly condemned the firings as “illegal”, citing the Supreme Court’s 1935 ruling _in _Humphrey’s Executor v. United States__, which explicitly barred presidents from removing FTC commissioners solely over policy disagreements.\n\n“Today the President illegally fired me… violating the plain language of a statute and clear Supreme Court precedent,\" **Rebecca Kelly Slaughter** , a member of the FTC since May 2018 and nominated by Trump during his first term, said in a release.\n\nStill, the Trump administration appears poised to directly challenge those legal precedents.\n\nIn _a Feb.12 letter_ to Congress, the Justice Department announced it would no longer defend long-standing Supreme Court precedent on “statutory tenure protections for the members of a variety of independent agencies,” including the FTC, the National Labor Relations Board, and Consumer Product Safety Commission.\n\n###  _Reactions_\n\nChairman Ferguson rushed to Trump’s defense, saying he had “no doubts” about Trump’s constitutional authority to remove commissioners.\n\n“Trump is the head of the executive branch and is vested with all of the executive power of our government,” Ferguson said _in a release_, calling the move “necessary to ensure democratic accountability.”\n\nHowever, Democratic lawmakers and former antitrust officials strongly disputed the legality of Trump’s actions.\n\n**Jonathan Kanter** , former assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, condemned the move, saying, “Today's action defies direct Supreme Court precedent, contravenes the unambiguous will of Congress, and elevates party politics above consumers, workers, and small businesses,” _in a LinkedIn post_.\n\n“There is no valid justification, legal or otherwise, to remove these two excellent commissioners. The American public deserves better,” Kanter said.\n\nDemocratic Senators **Amy Klobuchar** , D-Minn., and **Edward Markey** , D-Conn., also slammed Trump’s move.\n\n“Trump’s dismissal of Commissioners Slaughter and Bedoya is not only illegal but also hurts consumers by undermining an independent agency that Congress established to protect consumers from fraud, scams, and monopoly power,” Klobuchar said in _a post to X_.\n\n“With the Trump administration imminently having a majority at the FTC, the only reason to fire the Democratic commissioners is to shut down dissent and hide his efforts to pad the pockets of his billionaire buddies,” Markey said _in a release_.\n\n### _Might courts block Trump’s FTC firings?_\n\nOn _his X feed_, Bedoya said he would be testifying Wednesday before _Colorado's Joint House and Senate Judiciary Committee_ and would address his firing there.\n\nJust weeks earlier, a similar case tested the limits of such an executive action. On Jan. 27, Trump fired NLRB Commissioner **Gwynne Wilcox** ; however, Wilcox fought back, and on March 6, U.S. District Judge**Beryl Howell** ruled that her removal was illegal, ordering her immediate reinstatement. Legal experts say Wilcox’s victory could set the stage for Slaughter and Bedoya’s lawsuit.\n\nIn the meantime, the FTC can continue operating with just two members under _16 CFR 4.14(b)_, while confirmation of _Trump's third Republican FTC pick_, **Mark Meador** , awaits confirmation.",
  "title": "Terminated FTC Democrats Vow to Take Trump to Court",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-11T03:32:27.531Z"
}