Warren, Schakowsky, Lawmakers Press Trump on Illegal FTC Firings, Demand Commissioners be Reinstated
“These purported firings threaten the FTC’s existence as an independent enforcement agency and pave the way for you to use the FTC as a tool for partisan retribution.”
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), along with lawmakers Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.); Cory Booker (D-N.J.); Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.); Ron Wyden (D-Ore.); Kathy Castor (D-Fla.); Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.); Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.); Robin Kelly (D-Ill.); Doris Matsui (D-Calif.); Robert Menendez (D-N.J.); Kevin Mullin (D-Calif.); Lori Trahan (D-Mass.); and Marc Veasey (D-Texas), sent a letter to President Donald Trump strongly opposing his illegal attempt to fire Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter, two members of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). These firings could impede the FTC’s ongoing work, including efforts to lower food prices, tackle health care costs, and combat illegal business practices across the economy.
“This appears to be yet another decision that you have made to help Elon Musk and other billionaire supporters – and leaves middle-class families stuck with the costs,” wrote the lawmakers.
Congress created the agency in 1914 as a bipartisan, independent commission, mandating that FTC commissioners could only be removed for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” The Supreme Court has upheld this decision for nearly one hundred years.
“The illegal attempt to fire Commissioners Bedoya and Slaughter is just the latest in your ongoing campaign to hobble independent agencies and watchdogs to shield you and your billionaire donors, including Elon Musk, from accountability to the law,” wrote the lawmakers.
The lawmakers raised concerns about numerousall of the FTC actions investigations that Trump’s illegal firings could put be at risk based on these decisions, including: by challenging grocery retailer and food manufacturer mergers that raise prices for households struggling to make ends meet; suing to stop agriculture equipment and pesticide monopolists from taking advantage of American farmers; returning moneyover $1.5 billion over four years to Americans ripped off by bad actors ranging from tax preparation companies to corporate landlords; lowering costs for inhalers andfrom $500 to $35 and lowering the cost of insulin; and returning millions in refunds to defrauded servicemembers and veterans, among other actions.
The lawmakers urge Trump to act quickly to reinstate Commissioners Bedoya and Slaughter to ensure that pending FTC actions, particularly those that help American workers and families, will not be impactedcancelled or otherwise affected by the attempted firings.
###
Next Article Previous Article