(DailyEmailNews.com) – Asserting his constitutional authority over the executive branch, President Donald Trump fired two Democrat commissioners from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The dismissals of Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter signal the president’s determination to rein in unelected bureaucrats who have wielded unchecked power for years.
President Trump took decisive action against the Democrat-appointed commissioners as part of his broader effort to fulfill campaign promises to trim regulatory overreach.
Established as an independent agency meant to combat fraud and monopolies, the FTC had increasingly become a weapon for progressive policy agendas under Biden-era leadership.
The dismissed commissioners immediately claimed their firings were illegal, citing a 1935 Supreme Court case, Humphrey’s Executor v. United States.
“I’m a Commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission. The president just illegally fired me,” Bedoya wrote, vowing to fight the president’s decision.
“The President wants the FTC to be a lapdog for his golfing buddies. Who will Trump’s FTC work for? Will it work for the billionaires or will it work for you?” he added.
FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson, a Trump appointee, defended the president’s constitutional authority to make these changes.
“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, reinforcing the president’s legal standing to reshape federal agencies.
The FTC now has two Republican commissioners, with a third Republican nominee, Mark Meador, awaiting Senate confirmation.
This restructuring will allow the commission to adopt a more business-friendly approach that supports economic growth rather than stifling innovation with excessive regulations.
Bedoya’s parting shot reveals the partisan bias with which he viewed his role at the supposedly independent agency.
His complaint ignores many Americans’ legitimate concerns about overreaching regulations that hamper job creation and economic prosperity.
The fired commissioners have announced plans to challenge their dismissals in court, claiming they remain commissioners due to their Senate-confirmed terms.
This legal battle may test the boundaries of executive power over independent agencies.
The White House has maintained that the president has clear authority to remove executive officers he appointed.
This position aligns with President Trump’s earlier executive order designed to increase White House control over regulators who have operated with little accountability to voters.
The FTC’s data privacy rulemaking process, which many conservatives viewed as overly burdensome to businesses, is likely to be paused or significantly revised following these personnel changes.
In response to the firings, Democrats like Senators Maria Cantwell and Amy Klobuchar criticized them as harmful to consumer protection.
Copyright 2025, DailyEmailNews.com
