Two Trump firings 'an illegal and outrageous affront to the American people': watchdogs

20 March

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Antitrust watchdogs are blasting President Donald Trump’s attempt on Tuesday to remove two Democratic-appointed members of the Federal Trade Commission.

Trump’s attempted firing of commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter are illegal usurpations of congressional authority, they say, and raise serious questions about whether Trump is doing the bidding of big corporations the commission was created to police.

The White House confirmed the firings to Reuters, which first reported the news.

Slaughter and Bedoya reportedly plan to sue to reverse the firings. But on Wednesday, their bios were removed from the section of the FTC website dedicated to current commissioners.

Andrew Ferguson, a former aide to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., whom Trump appointed to chair the commission, acquiesced in Trump’s move. Ferguson posted on X that he had “no doubts about (Trump’s) constitutional authority to remove commissioners, which is necessary to ensure democratic accountability of our government.”

The firings are another instance in which Trump has tried to undercut the power of independent federal agencies. In the case of the FTC, it was created by Congress in 1914, its members are confirmed by the Senate, and despite Ferguson’s claim, the U.S. Supreme Court in 1935 ruled unanimously that presidents aren’t allowed to remove commissioners without showing good cause.

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Also raising concern is that Trump is removing commissioners who have acted aggressively to enforce antitrust law after a 40-year hiatus under Republican and Democratic administrations.

Bedoya and Slaughter have voted with the Commission to sue health conglomerates over allegations that they are illegally raising the cost of insulin, they acted to block the Kroger-Albertson’s mega-merger, and they voted to sue Amazon, saying it is “illegally maintaining monopoly power.”

Stacy Mitchell, co-executive director of the Institute for Local Self Reliance, said the firings appear to be Trump’s way of paying back to the big tech billionaires who have paid him millions.

“By violating the FTC’s independence and attempting to gut this crucial law-enforcement agency, President Trump is fulfilling the wishes of the Big Tech oligarchs and other powerful corporations who financed and backed his campaign,” Mitchell said in a statement. “This is a corrupt bid to allow dominant corporations to prey on American consumers, workers, and small businesses with impunity.”

In December, Mitchell told the Capital Journal that decades of non-enforcement of antitrust laws — including the 1936 Robinson Patman Act — facilitated the rise of big box stores, food deserts, and inflating grocery prices. Frustration over rising consumer costs contributed to Trump’s Nov. 5 victory, she said.

In her statement Tuesday, Mitchell said his attempted firing of Bedoya and Slaughter breaks faith with a public that is seeking relief from the squeeze of corporate consolidation.

“President Trump’s attempt to fire two members of the Federal Trade Commission is an illegal and outrageous affront to the American people,” she said. “Congress established the Commission as an independent agency in order to ensure its effectiveness in upholding the law and protecting Americans from concentrated corporate power and abuse.”

In a 2022 interview with the Capital Journal, Bedoya, then a new commissioner, said his research had convinced him that the goal of antitrust law is fairness to everyday Americans.

“Read why Congress passed these laws and you cannot read those debates and not understand that antitrust was intended to ensure fairness for small business and rural America,” he said. “Now is a critical time to remember that and make sure we’re being true to the original purpose of those laws.”

On Tuesday, he said his firing was illegal, and he said Trump was putting the interests of his rich friends over those of the American people.

“The FTC is an independent agency founded 111 years ago to fight fraudsters and monopolists. Our staff is unafraid of the (former drug exec and securities fraudster) Martin Shkrelis and (Amazon founder) Jeff Bezos of the world. They take them to court and win,” Bedoya wrote on X. “Now, the president wants the FTC to be a lapdog for his golfing buddies.”

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Bedoya added that with Slaughter and former Chair Lina Khan, “I spent my time at the FTC fighting for small town grocers and pharmacists and for people in Indian country going hungry because food was too expensive. I fought for workers getting screwed on pay and benefits and overtime. I fought for their right to organize. I fought tech companies who think they can track you and your kids every hour of every day so they can pocket their next billion.”

Bedoya asked, “Who will the FTC work for? Will it work for the billionaires? Or will it work for you?”

Another antitrust activist, Nidhi Hegde, executive director of the American Economic Liberties Project, called on Congress to step in and defend its prerogative.

“Independent agencies like the FTC exist to enforce the law as written by Congress and protect the public interest — not to be gutted at the whim of a president,” she said in a statement. “The president’s demand is illegal and void, and must not be accepted by Commissioners Bedoya and Slaughter. If the Trump administration continues to pursue this unconstitutional path, it is time for Congress to step in to defend the law and the authority of these two commissioners.”

The attempted firings are another move by the nascent Trump administration that could be seen as placing the interests of the rich and powerful over those of American consumers.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is working with Trump in an unofficial capacity to slash government agencies on claims that he wants efficiency. One of the first agencies to fall under Musk’s ax was the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has recovered tens of billions for consumers from payday lenders, big banks charging duplicate fees, and other predatory businesses. Tellingly, perhaps, the agency is also investigating potentially anticompetitive practices by big tech companies.

The attempt to shut down the consumer protection bureau is held up in court. But Musk, who owns several big tech companies, in February took to social media to crow, “CFPB RIP,” the New York Times reported.

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Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com.

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