Two former federal trade commissioners are demanding the Trump administration for moving to fire them last week, arguing that it violates the Federal Law.
Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Álvaro M. Bedoya have filed a lawsuit In the United States District Court for the Columbia district with the aim of reversing the decision of President Donald Trump to fire them without cause, they said.
“We are trying to claim the law that the Congress approved, which has been in force for more than a century to protect responsibility and transparency in the FTC,” Slaughter told ABC News. “To ensure that the commissioners and the work of the commission are carried out without fear or favor, and more specifically, that we can face the largest companies in the United States without fear of being fired for not doing a favor to the friends or donors of the president or corporate allies.”
Rebecca Kelly Slaughter is facing the Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee of the Chamber on Commerce, Manufacturing and Commercial Hearing entitled “The World Wild Web: Examination Harms Online” in the Rayburn House office building in Washington, DC, March 26, 2025.
Mattie Neretin/SPA through AP
The FTC, which regulates the main technological companies, such as Facebook and Amazon, has also recently taken energetic measures against junk rates, including those of concert tickets and resort rates of the hotel and simplified the process for the subscription of difficult services to cancel as membership in the gym. The meeting generally consists of five members: three of the president’s party and two of the opposition.
In the termination letters last week, a Trump administration official informed Slaughter and Bedoya, the Democratic members, that his FTC service was “inconsistent” with the administration policies, but did not provide more details.
Slaughter and Bedoya point to a precedent of the 1935 Supreme Court that prohibits the president from withdrawing the FTC commissioners, except for “inefficiency, negligence of duty or embezzlement in office.”
“This is a very obvious violation of the law, and we hope to be reinstated in a short time,” Bedoya said.
Demand requires the payment and restitution of your positions.
A vision of signaling at the headquarters of the Federal Commerce Commission (FTC) in Washington, DC, on November 24, 2024.
Benoit Tessier/Reuters, file
In addition to Elon Musk, Trump has sought narrow links with other technology CEO, including Mark Zuckerberg of Meta and Jeff Bezos de Amazon, who were invited to the inauguration of Trump.
The former FTC commissioners said they do not know if Trump’s relations with the chiefs of the technological companies had something to do with their dismissal.
“Certainly raises the spectrum of such interference and corruption,” said Slaughter. “We will not know without the presence of minority commissioners in the FTC why you are taking the actions you are taking and if you are in line with the law.”
Bedoya added: “Some of the recent ones, I would say, the chaotic movements of the White House are a real concern, not only for consumers, but also for the market. If you want small businesses and new companies to succeed, you want a stable and predictable market where large companies cannot turn it off, not to emit a better product, but only show their weight to stop. That is, it is the type of work.
