By Jody Godoy (Reuters) – Over twenty Democratic senators have urged President Donald Trump to undo his decision to dismiss the two Democratic members of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. In a letter sent by U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota to the White House, the reinstatement of Democratic Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, who were fired by Trump on Tuesday, was requested. The senators stated in the letter that this move goes against established Supreme Court rulings, weakens Congress’s ability to establish bipartisan, independent commissions, and disrupts over a century of FTC’s work in safeguarding consumers from fraudulent practices and monopolies.
Among the 28 signatories were Senators Richard Durbin of Illinois, the leading Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, and Maria Cantwell of Washington, the leading Democrat on the Commerce Committee. Both Bedoya and Slaughter have expressed intentions to challenge the terminations through legal action. The FTC is responsible for enforcing consumer protection and antitrust laws, and operates with a bipartisan structure where no more than three of the five commissioners may belong to the same party.
In 1935, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law permitting the removal of FTC commissioners only for valid reasons, such as neglecting their responsibilities. The Trump administration maintains that the FTC is a part of the executive branch, and therefore, its commissioners cannot be shielded from dismissal by the president without cause. (Reporting by Jody Godoy; Editing by Richard Chang)
