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ARTICLE · 27 MARCH 2025

President Trump Fires Two Democratic FTC Commissioners

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Potential Legal Battle Over Presidential Authority. President Trump's firing of the two Democratic FTC commissioners challenges old and new U.S. Supreme Court precedent interpreting the FTC Act's terms, which allows the president to remove FTC commissioners only for "insufficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office."

United StatesConsumer Protection
Christopher A. Cole
Christopher A. Cole
David J. Gonen
David J. Gonen
Trisha Sircar
Trisha Sircar
Timothy Gray
Timothy Gray
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Key Takeaways

  • Potential Legal Battle Over Presidential Authority. President Trump's firing of the two Democratic FTC commissioners challenges old and new U.S. Supreme Court precedent interpreting the FTC Act's terms, which allows the president to remove FTC commissioners only for "insufficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office." Advocates of the so-called "unitary executive" theory have reportedly been seeking grounds to challenge the limit on presidential power presented by Humphrey's Executor and Seila Law, hoping the currently constituted Supreme Court might overrule this longstanding precedent.
  • Impact on FTC's Composition and Competition Enforcement Direction. With the removal of the two Democratic commissioners and the anticipated confirmation of Republican nominee Mark Meador, the FTC will have a 3–0 Republican majority. This will give these Republican appointees complete control over approving future enforcement actions and also empower them

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