Trump fires Democratic FTC commissioners

President Donald Trump fired two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday, with both commissioners saying they were ”illegally fired.”

Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya posted a scathing critique of the Trump administration on X after the firing.

“I’m a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission. The president just illegally fired me,” Bedoya wrote. “Now, the president wants the FTC to be a lapdog for his golfing buddies.”

In a separate emailed statement, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter said: “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.”

She continued, “Why? Because I have a voice. And he is afraid of what I’ll tell the American people.”

The FTC was formed 111 years ago to enforce consumer protection and antitrust laws. Under then-Chair Lina Khan, the Biden administration aggressively took on major cases, such as the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger and the Kroger acquisition of Albertsons. The FTC commission is made up of five commissioners, with no more than three commissioners from the same political party.