Trump fires both Democratic commissioners at FTC

A White House official confirmed that President Donald Trump dismissed two Democratic commissioners from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Tuesday. Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter took to social media to denounce their removal as illegal and said they would sue the administration to block the decision.

The firings caused a rout among Democratic lawmakers and antitrust advocates, who argue that the move is an attempt to strip the FTC of its independence and remove obstacles for a “Republican-oriented rule.”

FTC commissioners say the firings are uncalled for

Shortly after his removal, Bedoya posted on X: “I’m a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission. The president just illegally fired me. Now, the president wants the FTC to be a lapdog for his golfing buddies.”

These are the questions to ask about the president’s attempt to illegally fire me pic.twitter.com/kmuY19jAu2

— Alvaro Bedoya (@BedoyaFTC) March 19, 2025

Slaughter issued a written statement coining her job dismissal as a violation of statutory law and Supreme Court precedent. 

“Why? Because I have a voice. And he is afraid of what I’ll tell the American people,” she wrote. She cautioned the government that the decision nerfs the FTC’s ability to protect consumers and hold corporations accountable.

The Federal Trade Commission, established in 1914, is a bipartisan agency made of five commissioners responsible for enforcing consumer protection and antitrust laws. By law, the commission can have no more than three members from the same political party.

The agency has provided oversight on several antitrust battles in recent years, particularly under the Biden administration, which pursued cases like blocking the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger that finally went through in October 2023.

Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat and a vocal advocate for antitrust reform, told Reuters that taking the commissioners away from their positions would benefit monopolists at the expense of consumers. 

“Illegally gutting the Commission will empower fraudsters and monopolists, and consumers will pay the price,” she said.

Trump administration defends its decision

In a statement late Tuesday, the administration said the president has the “unrestricted” power to dismiss FTC commissioners, which it dubbed as a necessary step to ensure democratic accountability.

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, a Republican appointed to the commission by Biden and later elevated to chair by Trump, has backed the White House’s decision. “I have no doubts about the president’s constitutional authority to remove commissioners,” Ferguson said, adding that the agency would continue its mission to protect consumers and ensure competitive markets.

Still, the timing of the dismissals is raising eyebrows about the administration’s regulatory strategy. Trump had previously removed members of other independent agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board, and now faces a train of legal battles challenging the extent of his presidential authority. 

Federal judges in the District of Columbia US Court of Appeals have already ruled that Trump’s January firing of NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox and Merit Systems Protection Board member Cathy Harris violated federal law.

More lawsuits in sight?

With the two Democratic commissioners removed, the FTC now has only two sitting members: Chairman Andrew Ferguson and Republican Commissioner Melissa Holyoak. Trump’s nominee for the third Republican seat, Mark Meador, has yet to be confirmed by the Senate. 

The agency is technically still able to bring or dismiss cases with only two commissioners, but there are ongoing investigations and court battles that could be disrupted.

The FTC is in a legal standoff with America’s three largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). The lawsuit accuses them of driving up insulin prices by securing massive rebates from drug manufacturers. 

Both Ferguson and Holyoak had already recused themselves from the case, leaving Bedoya and Slaughter as the commissioners pushing for enforcement. Their removal now leaves the agency without a quorum to move forward.

Democratic senators, including Klobuchar, signaled that they would reconsider their previous support for Meador’s nomination. “I don’t understand why, when they are firing people, we would ever support their commissioners again,” Klobuchar told Reuters.

On a conference call with reporters yesterday, Bedoya discussed the ongoing FTC cases against major tech and pharmaceutical companies, saying that the Trump administration is opening doors for companies to be more corrupt. 

“Who does this attempt to remove us help?” he asked. “Who it helps is billionaires. And I think it opens the door for corruption.”

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