President Donald Trump fired two Democratic commissioners at the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday, both of whom now say they plan to sue to get their jobs back.
The firings hit Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter, who represent the Democratic minority in the five-member commission. The White House did not immediately confirm Trump’s firing of the officials to Fox News Digital, but both Bedoya and Slaughter released public statements saying they intend to sue to return to their roles.
“I’m a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission. The president just illegally fired me,” Bedoya wrote on social media, arguing Trump wants the FTC to “be a lapdog for his golfing buddies.”
Slaughter released a similar statement saying Trump “illegally fired” her, arguing the move was “violating the plain language of a statute and clear Supreme Court precedent.”
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“We are still commissioners. We’re suing to make that clear for everyone,” Bedoya said in a follow-up statement.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, a Republican first appointed to the commission by President Biden and then made chairman by Trump, said he saw no issues with the firings on Tuesday.
“President Donald J. Trump is the head of the executive branch and is vested with all of the executive power in our government,” Ferguson wrote. “I have no doubts about his constitutional authority to remove commissioners, which is necessary to ensure democratic accountability for our government.”
“I wish Commissioners Slaughter and Bedoya well, and I thank them for their service,” he added.
The FTC firings are only the latest battle over the limits of Trump’s executive authority. His administration is facing numerous lawsuits from disgruntled former employees across the federal government, and several federal judges have sought to hamper his administration’s efforts.
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Last week, U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg verbally issued a 14-day restraining order to immediately halt the Trump administration’s Tren de Aragua deportation plan. Trump was deporting the gang members under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, and the order could have forced two planes full of TdA gang members to return to U.S. soil.
Trump’s efforts to trim the federal government with Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have also led to a litany of legal challenges.
Reuters contributed to this report.
