Fired Democratic FTC commissioners sue Trump

The two Democratic Federal Trade Commission members illegally fired by Donald Trump have filed a lawsuit against the president and newly appointed Republican FTC chair Andrew Ferguson, as well as fellow commissioner Melissa Holyoak and executive director David Robbins.

Commissioners Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya write that, “Last week, President Donald Trump purported to fire them, in direct violation of a century of federal law and Supreme Court precedent.” The precedent referred to is a 1935 Supreme Court case about the limits of presidential power in firing FTC commissioners, Humphrey’s Executor v. US, which Ferguson has said is wrong. Under that existing ruling, however, commissioners cannot be removed without cause — something Trump does not appear to have provided in this case.

Bedoya and Slaughter revealed on March 18th that Trump had declared them dismissed from the FTC, and the White House confirmed the move. The commissioners included a copy of a letter that was sent on Trump’s behalf notifying them of their removal; it claimed an exception to presidential powers created by the Humphrey’s Executor ruling “does not fit the principal officers who head the FTC today,” and that “Your continued service on the FTC is inconsistent with my Administration’s priorities.”

The lawsuit also references statements that Ferguson made in front of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation before he was appointed as a commissioner by Joe Biden last year, promising that “If confirmed as an FTC Commissioner, I will abide by binding Supreme Court precedent.” They argue that without finding “… inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office,” they have a right to remain in office for the remainder of their seven-year term under the FTC Act — and they’re asking the District of Columbia federal court to restore those positions.