President Trump has fired both of the Federal Trade Commission’s Democratic commissioners, setting up a legal battle that will have major implications for a key bipartisan regulatory agency traditionally seen as independent from the executive branch.
The White House informed Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter of their dismissals on Tuesday, the Democrats confirmed in separate X posts. Both Bedoya and Slaughter called their firings “illegal” and vowed to challenge Trump in court.
“The president just illegally fired me. This is corruption plain and simple,” said Bedoya.
Slaughter said Trump’s decision violated “the plain language of a statute and clear Supreme Court precedent.”
“The law protects the independence of the Commission because the law serves the American people, not corporate power,” Slaughter said in a statement.
The firings left FTC chair Andrew Ferguson and fellow Republican Melissa Holyoak as the sole remaining members of the five-person panel. Mark Meador, who was nominated by Trump to be the third Republican FTC commissioner, has yet to be confirmed by a full Senate vote.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Trump plans to nominate replacements for Bedoya and Slaughter.
White House assistant press secretary Taylor Rogers said Trump “has the lawful authority to manage personnel within the executive branch.”
“President Trump will continue to rid the federal government of bad actors unaligned with his common sense agenda the American people decisively voted for,” Rogers added in a statement.
Ferguson, who has referred to the agency as the “Trump-Vance FTC” since taking over as chair, backed the president’s right to fire commissioners.
“I have no doubts about his constitutional authority to remove commissioners, which is necessary to ensure democratic accountability for our government,” Ferguson said in a statement posted on X.
“The Federal Trade Commission will continue its tireless work to protect consumers, lower prices, and police anticompetitive behavior,” Ferguson added.
A White House official informed Bedoya and Slaughter that the president has “unrestricted power” to remove executive-branch officers who were confirmed by the Senate, according to an email obtained by the Wall Street Journal.
“Your continued service on the FTC is inconsistent with my administration’s priorities,” the email said. “Accordingly, I am removing you from office pursuant to my authority under Article II of the Constitution.”
Earlier this week, Ferguson confirmed that the FTC was fully prepared to challenge Meta in an April trial that is seeking a breakup of the tech giant. The agency also has pending cases against Amazon and oversees data-privacy settlements related to Meta and X.
Trump has sought to exert greater control over independent agencies, issuing an executive order in February that gave the White House more latitude.
The firings will test a 1935 decision by the Supreme Court in the case Humphrey’s Executor v. United States.
At the time, the court ruled that the president doesn’t have the authority to fire FTC commissioners without good cause – setting a precedent that has traditionally shielded independent bodies like the FTC and the Federal Reserve from direct executive intervention.
The White House argues that the FTC has significant executive power and that exemptions offered by Humphrey’s Executor should not apply to its commissioners.
The FTC firings have “major implications for the independence of the Fed,” one former FTC official told The Post.
Trump has been sharply critical of Fed Chair Jerome Powell in the past due to disagreements over his handling of interest rates. Powell will notably announce the Fed’s next policy move this afternoon.
“I think it was timed as a threat,” the FTC official said.
The firings along partisan lines could backfire on Republicans in the future under a Democratic White House administration, the official added.
“Are we all going to be happy with Queen Lina Khan at the FTC?” the official said.
Khan, who led the agency under former President Joe Biden and irritated business leaders with a hardnosed approach to enforcement, also ripped the firings.
“The @FTC must enforce the law without fear or favor,” Khan said. “The administration’s illegal attempt to fire Commissioners Slaughter & Bedoya is a disturbing sign that this FTC won’t. It’s a gift to corporate lawbreakers that squeeze American consumers, workers, and honest businesses.”
