Democratic FTC commissioners blast Trump's 'illegal' firings
By 
Oscar Gonzalez2025-03-19T19:15:00
President Donald Trump fired two Democratic commissioners serving on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the regulatory agency overseeing antitrust and consumer protection laws and which has been traditionally independent and staffed by members of both political parties.
The two Democratic commissioners–Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter–were the only Democrats at the regulator following the resignation of Chairwoman Lina Khan, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate in 2021. She resigned from the FTC on Jan. 21 after Andrew Ferguson was appointed by Trump to chair the FTC.
In a statement Tuesday posted on X, formerly Twitter, Bedoya said, “The president just illegally fired me.”
THIS IS MEMBERS-ONLY CONTENT
You are not logged in and do not have access to members-only content.
If you are already a registered user or a member, SIGN IN now.
Related articles
-
News BriefDismissed Democrats on Federal Trade Commission sue Trump administration
Two former Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission–Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter–filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and the remaining commissioners, claiming their recent termination was without cause and that the courts should rule their dismissals as “unlawful and ineffective.”
-
News BriefTrump picks Fed vice chair of supervision, aims to roll back 2023 bank protections
Federal Reserve Board member Michelle Bowman has been nominated as the board’s vice chair for supervision, a position that oversees regulation of the nation’s largest banks.
-
News BriefTrump taps crypto enthusiast Paul Atkins to replace Gensler at SEC
President-elect Donald Trump appeared to strengthen his ties to the crypto industry when he nominated a popular crypto advocate, Patomak Global Partners founder Paul Atkins, to be the next chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.