Trump moves to fire Democratic FTC commissioners

The move, which critics say is unconstitutional, also potentially threatens numerous agency investigations and enforcement around privacy and cybersecurity.

Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter of the Federal Trade Commission confirmed reports that President Donald Trump is attempting to fire them, marking a direct challenge to the agency’s independence and potentially crippling a host of its tech-related investigation and enforcement actions.

On X, Bedoya posted a note saying he had just been “illegally fired” by the president. He referenced the FTC’s reputation for regulating and investigating wealthy tech companies and accused Trump of seeking to neuter the agency going forward, calling it “corruption, plain and simple.”

“Our staff is unafraid of the Martin Shkrelis and Jeff Bezos of the world. They take them to court and win,” Bedoya wrote. “Now, the president wants the FTC to be a lapdog for his golfing buddies.”

In a subsequent message, Bedoya clarified that Trump “tried to illegally fire me” and that he’ll “see the president in court.”

In her own message released by a spokesperson on X, Slaughter confirmed the attempted firings and said she and Bedoya would have provided opposition voices if the FTC decides to treat corporations “with kid gloves.”

“The law protects the independence of the Commission because the law serves the American people, not corporate power,” Slaughter wrote. “The reason that the FTC can be so effective for the American people is because of its independence and because its commissioners serve across political parties and ideologies.”

Bedoya, Slaughter and former Chair Lina Khan formed a powerful bloc on the commission, pushing to expand FTC investigations into major tech companies and examine issues of digital privacy, surveillance and cybersecurity. While incoming Chair Andrew Ferguson has expressed his own desire to scrutinize tech companies, Republicans in Congress have criticized Khan’s tenure as one of regulatory overreach.

The FTC and White House could not be immediately reached for comment.

The Trump administration recently issued an executive order attempting to assert greater control over historically independent agencies such as the FTC and the Federal Communications Commission. That independence — and the legal case behind Bedoya’s claims that the president’s actions were illegal — stem from a 1935 Supreme Court case that concluded President Franklin Roosevelt did not have the constitutional authority to fire FTC commissioners once they were duly sworn into office, except for instances of inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance.

In a statement posted to X, Ferguson said he has “no doubts” about Trump’s “constitutional authority to remove Commissioners, which is necessary to ensure democratic accountability for our government.”

Emily Peterson-Cassin, corporate power director at the nonprofit Demand Progress Education Fund, said in a statement that Trump’s actions were “illegal” and would lead to “unfettered corruption and self-dealing” among large tech companies and other bad actors.

“The FTC is currently investigating or suing many of the biggest corporations — including Google, which announced a multi-billion dollar merger just this afternoon,” Peterson-Cassin said. “These illegal firing attempts put these investigations in doubt and could seriously curb the agency’s power and responsibility to protect everyday Americans and honest, main street businesses from being scammed and trampled by megacorporations.”

However, at least one former FTC official told CyberScoop that they expected the Trump administration to challenge the 1935 Supreme Court decision in the hopes that the current conservative majority will rule more favorably.

“No administration until now has wanted to push the limits on that but the current administration has made clear they think it’s wrongly decided,” the former official said, who requested anonymity to speak candidly.

That challenge would most likely focus on the president’s authority to fire or remove officials who do not carry out his directives. A ruling that strengthens the president’s ability to dismiss appointees would by itself have a significant impact on agency independence.

“It’s the power of removal more than anything else that is the mechanism by which any president is able to instruct the subordinates how they are to proceed,” the official added.

The attempt to fire only the Democratic members of the FTC mirrors similar actions the Trump administration has taken for the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Federal Election Commission, and the National Labor Relations Board.

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