On Tuesday, Donald Trump dismissed two Democratic commissioners from the US Federal Trade Commission, further compromising the spirit of bipartisanship within regulatory bodies.
The commissioners who were let go are Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, with Bedoya confirming his dismissal via a social media post.
“I’m a Commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission. The President just unlawfully terminated my position,” he stated.
“The FTC is an independent agency established 111 years ago to combat fraud and monopolistic practices; our staff fears no one, not the likes of Martin Shkreli or Jeff Bezos. They take them to court and achieve wins.
“Now, the President seeks to turn the FTC into a lapdog for his golfing associates,” he added.
In a parallel statement given to the Guardian and other media outlets, Slaughter addressed the illegality of her dismissal.
“Today, the President unlawfully dismissed me from my role as a Federal Trade Commissioner, breaching clear statutory language and established Supreme Court precedent. Why? Because I speak up, and he fears what I might reveal to the American public,” she remarked.
She also expressed her apprehensions that Trump’s actions to eliminate “opposition voices” within the FTC could hinder accountability for his administration’s conduct.
“The administration evidently fears the accountability that opposition voices could bring, especially if the president instructs Chairman Ferguson to treat powerful corporations and their executives – such as those present at his inauguration – with leniency,” the statement elaborates.
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In 1935, the US Supreme Court upheld a law stipulating that FTC commissioners can only be dismissed for valid reasons, such as neglecting their responsibilities. This ruling is designed to protect several independent and bipartisan agencies from direct presidential influence.
