(Reuters) – More than two dozen Democratic U.S. senators have called on President Donald Trump to reverse his decision to terminate two Democratic members of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
In a letter sent to the White House on Wednesday, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota urged Trump to reinstate Democratic Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, whom he dismissed on Tuesday.
“This action contradicts long-standing Supreme Court precedent, undermines Congress’s constitutional authority to create bipartisan, independent commissions, and upends more than 110 years of work at the FTC to protect consumers from deceptive practices and monopoly power,” the senators wrote.
Senators Richard Durbin of Illinois, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, and Maria Cantwell of Washington, the ranking Democrat on the Commerce Committee, were among the 28 signatories.
Both Bedoya and Slaughter have announced plans to sue to challenge their dismissals.
Legal and Structural Implications
The FTC, which enforces consumer protection and antitrust laws, operates as a bipartisan commission, with no more than three of its five commissioners allowed to be from the same political party.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1935 that FTC commissioners could only be removed for good cause, such as neglecting their duties. However, the Trump administration has argued that the FTC functions as an executive branch agency and that its commissioners should not be shielded from dismissal by the president.
The controversy over the firings raises significant legal and constitutional questions regarding the independence of federal regulatory agencies and the extent of presidential authority over them.
