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On Tuesday, President Donald Trump dismissed Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, both Democratic commissioners at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Reuters reported with one of the firings confirmed. The move has raised questions about its legality and adherence to historical precedent.
Bedoya reacted to his dismissal with a statement on platform X, asserting, "The president just illegally fired me. This is corruption plain and simple." The abrupt termination of the commissioners’ service has echoed previous actions by Trump, who has faced lawsuits for similar dismissals at other independent agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board.
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 1935 ruling, established a law that FTC commissioners could only be removed for "good cause," such as neglect of duty. This decision was aimed at protecting the independence of bipartisan multi-member agencies from direct presidential influence.
The recent firings have yet to result in any legal action, but they stand in contrast to the Supreme Court’s stance on the stability of such independent agencies. The FTC, a bipartisan body, is designed to operate with a degree of autonomy from the executive branch.
The implications of these dismissals for the FTC’s operations and for the broader landscape of independent regulatory agencies are as yet unclear.
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