President Trump Axes Top Dems, Faces Legal Backlash

Federal Trade Commission Building with sign and trees.

Trump fires Democratic FTC commissioners, setting stage for legal battles and raising concerns about independent agency norms.

Quick Takes

President Trump removed FTC Democratic commissioners Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya, who are planning legal action to regain their positions.
The firings create an all-Republican FTC, breaking with the traditional bipartisan 3-2 split in these agencies.
FTC Chairman Ferguson supports Trump’s authority while fired commissioners claim the action violates statutory language and Supreme Court precedent.
The shake-up could potentially ease approval of major corporate mergers like Google’s $32 billion acquisition of cybersecurity firm Wiz.

Presidential Authority vs. Agency Independence

President Donald Trump has fired two Democratic commissioners at the Federal Trade Commission, Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya, in a move that dramatically alters the composition of this key regulatory body. Both commissioners have vowed legal action, claiming their dismissals were illegal and violated established norms for independent federal agencies. The firings immediately transformed the FTC into an all-Republican body, diverging from the longstanding tradition where regulatory commissions maintain partisan balance with no more than three members from any single party.

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, a Trump appointee, defended the President’s actions, arguing they fall squarely within executive authority. “President Donald J. Trump is the head of the executive branch and is vested with all of the executive power in our government,” Ferguson stated, signaling the administration’s position that the President maintains removal power over these positions. This viewpoint directly contradicts the claims of the fired commissioners, who argue that specific statutory protections and legal precedents limit presidential authority to remove commissioners except for cause.

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

Commissioners Contest Their Removal

Bedoya and Slaughter have been vocal in challenging their dismissals. The ousted commissioners suggest Trump’s actions are motivated by a desire to have the FTC serve his personal interests rather than maintaining its intended role as an independent regulatory body. Their planned legal challenges will test the boundaries of presidential authority over independent agencies designed to function without direct political control.

Slaughter particularly emphasized the fundamental importance of the FTC’s independence and bipartisan structure for effective consumer protection. She categorically rejected the legitimacy of her removal, describing herself as having been “illegally fired” in statements to the press. These firings add to a growing list of legal challenges against Trump’s executive actions, with multiple former federal employees now pursuing lawsuits to contest what they view as an overreach of presidential authority.

Implications for Corporate Oversight

The FTC shake-up creates immediate practical consequences for business regulation, potentially easing the path for major corporate mergers that might have faced tougher scrutiny under a bipartisan commission. Google’s recently announced $32 billion acquisition of cybersecurity firm Wiz now enters the approval process under this newly configured FTC. Additionally, the agency has already begun removing previously published critical content about major technology companies from its website, signaling a shift in regulatory approach.

Critics, including former White House economic adviser Jason Furman and Senator Amy Klobuchar, have expressed concern that these firings politicize what was designed to be an independent agency and undermine its core mission of protecting consumers. The situation has also raised questions about whether similar actions might be taken at other independent agencies with similar structures, such as the Federal Communications Commission, where Democrats could potentially face removal under the same rationale.