Trump’s Attempted Firing of Two Sitting FTC Commissioners is Blatantly Illegal
Washington, D.C. — Following reports that Donald Trump attempted to remove Federal Trade Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter, the only two Democratic Commissioners at the agency, without cause or reason, the American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement.
“Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter are still FTC Commissioners. President Trump cannot fire two sitting, Senate-confirmed FTC Commissioners in the middle of their terms without cause,” said Nidhi Hegde, Executive Director of the American Economic Liberties Project. “Independent agencies like the FTC exist to enforce the law as written by Congress and protect the public interest—not to be gutted at the whim of a president. Commissioners Bedoya and Slaughter each have critical work to do and votes to cast on matters that protect consumers, workers, and small businesses from monopoly power. The president’s demand is illegal and void, and must not be accepted by Commissioners Bedoya and Slaughter. If the Trump Administration continues to pursue this unconstitutional path, it is time for Congress to step in and defend the law and the authority of these two Commissioners.”
Learn more about Economic Liberties here.
###
The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.