Two Democratic commissioners fired from FTC

President Donald Trump fired the only two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission, handing the remaining Republican commissioners exclusive control over the agency that oversees antitrust and consumer protection laws and serves as the U.S. government’s primary regulator of the tech industry. FTC  Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter announced their dismissals on the social media site X, with both calling their firings illegal. “The law protects the independence of the Commission because the law serves the American people, not corporate power,” Commissioner Slaughter wrote in a statement posted to X. Commissioner Bedoya indicated that he intends to sue over his firing, writing, “I’ll see the president in court.” Bedoya decried his dismissal from what he called “an independent agency founded 111 years ago to fight fraudsters and monopolists,” adding, “Now, the president wants the FTC to be a lapdog for his golfing buddies.” The White House says the president has total control over whom to hire and fire within the executive branch and maintains complete authority over its policies. “President Donald J. Trump is the head of the executive branch and is vested with all of the executive power in our government,” FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson said. “I have no doubts about his constitutional authority to remove Commissioners, which is necessary to ensure democratic accountability for our government.”