Trump fires two Democrats on the Federal Trade Commission, seeking more control over tech regulators

Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter said they’d been dismissed illegally and would sue to block Trump’s order.

President Donald Trump fired two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday, intensifying efforts to exert his administration's control over independent agencies across the government.

Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter said they'd been dismissed illegally and would sue to block Trump's order. They also said they consider themselves still part of the FTC, though whether they will still have access to their offices and logistical tools like email going forward was unclear.

Removing Bedoya and Slaughter could free up space on the five-member FTC for new commissioners loyal to Trump and his priorities and policies.

The White House confirmed the dismissals. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson, a Republican whom Trump designated for the role upon taking office in January, released a statement on X saying he had no doubts about Trump's “constitutional authority to remove Commissioners, which is necessary to ensure democratic accountability.”

The FTC is a regulator created by Congress that enforces consumer protection measures and antitrust legislation. Its seats are typically comprised of three members of the president’s party and two from the opposing party.

Commissioners are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. They serve seven-year terms that are staggered to prevent multiple vacancies at once.

The ousted commissioners pointed to past Supreme Court rulings that sought to solidify the body’s independence and only allowed commissioners to be removed for cause.