On March 18th President Trump fired the Federal Trade Commission’s two Democratic Commissioners, Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter. The news broke when Commissioner Bedoya took to the social media site X, stating, “I am a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission. The president just illegally fired me. This is corruption plain and simple.”
The firing of the Commissioners — each nominated by the President, and confirmed by the Senate— is the latest effort by the Administration to expand presidential power over the executive branch, including independent agencies. The dismissals follow executive orders from February 18th and March 14th, both asserting broad powers of the President over federal agencies.
News outlets report that both Bedoya and Slaughter plan to challenge the firings in court. The outcome of those battles could have outsized effects on the future of Humphrey’s Executor and the FTC’s governance, independence, and regulatory focus.
As reported on in a prior Client Alert, recent Supreme Court decisions weakening Humphrey’s Executor will play a pivotal role in challenges to the firings. Those decisions indicate that the Supreme Court may be willing to find that the Administration has greater power over once unquestionably independent agencies.
In the meantime, the FTC’s permissive quorum rule allows the two remaining republican Commissioners to continue carrying on Commission action without new appointments.
Crowell attorneys will continue to monitor these and related developments.