Judge Rules Trump’s FTC Commissioner Firing Unlawful, Reinstates Rebecca Slaughter

A significant ruling from US District Judge Loren AliKhan has declared President Trump’s removal of Democratic Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter “unlawful and without legal effect.” The landmark decision asserts that Slaughter remains a “rightful member” of the independent agency, underscoring critical protections designed to prevent unilateral presidential dismissals of officials within such bodies. Following the verdict, Commissioner Slaughter expressed her readiness to resume her duties.

This ruling reinforces the “for-cause removal protections” that shield officials at independent agencies, including not only the FTC but also crucial economic regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Federal Reserve. President Trump’s actions had led to the dismissal of two Democratic FTC commissioners, including Ms. Slaughter, effectively creating an all-Republican commission and disrupting the traditional five-member partisan balance.

Traditionally, the Federal Trade Commission operates with a five-member structure: three commissioners from the president’s party and two from the opposing party. Prior to this ruling, the FTC’s official website reflected only the three Republican commissioners, including Chairman Andrew Ferguson, who had previously affirmed the president’s constitutional authority to remove commissioners, citing the need for “democratic accountability.” While Alvaro Bedoya, another Democratic commissioner fired by Trump, was initially part of the legal challenge, his claims were dismissed after he resigned from the agency to pursue private sector employment, citing financial constraints during the ongoing litigation.

A White House spokesperson, Kush Desai, has indicated that the administration intends to appeal Judge AliKhan’s decision, asserting that the Supreme Court has consistently supported the president’s constitutional power to dismiss executive officers. Judge AliKhan herself anticipated this development, noting in her ruling that the case is likely to proceed to the Supreme Court. This potential Supreme Court review follows previous instances where the high court declined to reinstate members of the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board who were similarly dismissed by the Trump administration, despite being protected by federal laws restricting presidential removal authority.