Trump Fires Democratic FTC Commissioners in Challenge to Agency Independence

Slaughter and Bedoya both rejected the legality of their removals, citing explicit statutory protections for commissioners that prevent termination without cause. Slaughter stated that the administration is silencing opposition to ensure that FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson treats powerful corporate allies—specifically tech titans like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg—with leniency. Bedoya echoed this sentiment, vowing to challenge the president in court while describing the action as a corrupt attempt to transform the agency into a tool for political and corporate interests.

The White House move follows Ferguson’s recent endorsement of an aggressive legal theory asserting that the president holds unilateral authority to fire commissioners. Watchdog groups, including the Revolving Door Project and Demand Progress Education Fund, warn that this creates a dangerous precedent. They argue that by gutting the FTC’s independence, the administration is dismantling essential safeguards against corporate malfeasance, potentially stalling major antitrust investigations—such as the recent multibillion-dollar merger involving Google—and inviting a return to era-defining levels of corporate graft.