Trump Fires Democrat FTC Commissioners

President Trump has fired the two Democrats sitting on the Federal Trade Commission.

Rebecca Slaughter – a former legal advisor to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Alvaro Bedoya – a former Georgetown official, were informed by the White House that the president was terminating their positions at the FTC, which enforces consumer protection and antitrust laws. The Commission typically has five members, with the president’s party holding three seats and the opposing party two.

Slaughter and Bedoya say they plan to challenge their dismissals in court.

“Today the president illegally fired me from my position as a federal trade commissioner, violating the plain language of a statute and clear Supreme Court precedent,” said Slaughter, who Trump nominated to the FTC during his first term in 2018. “Why? Because I have a voice. And he is afraid of what I’ll tell the American people.”

Bedoya wrote on social media, “I’m a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission. The president just illegally fired me,” adding that Trump wants the FTC to be “a lapdog for his golfing buddies.”

I am a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission. The president just illegally fired me. This is corruption plain and simple. My full statement: pic.twitter.com/12HPZsbLTP

— Alvaro Bedoya (@BedoyaFTC) March 18, 2025

“We are still commissioners. We’re suing to make that clear for everyone,” Bedoya said in a follow-up statement reported by Fox News.

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, a Republican first appointed by President Biden and recently made chairman by Trump, said he sees no issues with the firings.

“President Donald J. Trump is the head of the executive branch and is vested with all of the executive power in our government,” Ferguson wrote. “I have no doubts about his constitutional authority to remove commissioners, which is necessary to ensure democratic accountability for our government.”

“I wish Commissioners Slaughter and Bedoya well, and I thank them for their service,” he added.

pic.twitter.com/vzKfk0bsb7

— Andrew Ferguson (@AFergusonFTC) March 18, 2025

The FTC firings are set to become yet another test to the limits of Trump’s executive authority, as Democrats who don’t get their way can simply go venue shopping for an activist judge who will halt, even if temporarily, various decisions by the executive branch.

Last week, US District Court Judge James Boasberg issued a 14-day restraining order to immediately halt several planes full of Tren de Aragua gang members under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 – which the Trump administration ignored since the planes were over international waters at the time.