Why did President Donald Trump fire the FTC commissioners? Comment on Ferguson’s lawsuit, and how it failed to stop the presidency in his bid to resign

is a senior policy reporter at The Verge, covering the intersection of Silicon Valley and Capitol Hill. She wrote about antitrust, privacy and moderation reform at CNBC for five years.

Commissioners Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya write that, “Last week, President Donald Trump purported to fire them, in direct violation of a century of federal law and Supreme Court precedent.” Ferguson has said that a 1935 Supreme Court case about limits of presidential power in firing FTC Commissioners is wrong. The existing ruling allows for Commissioners not to be removed without cause, something Trump doesn’t appear to have provided.

The statement that Ferguson made in front of the Senate committee on commerce, science, and transportation prior to his appointment as a FTC commissioner is mentioned in the lawsuit. After the case was filed, Ferguson published a statement on X saying, “My Democrat former colleagues are entitled to their day in court, but I have no doubt that President Trump’s lawful powers will ultimately be confirmed.”

They argue that without finding “… inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office,” they have a right to remain in office for the remainder of their seven-year term under the FTC Act — and they’re asking the District of Columbia federal court to restore those positions.

The Republican leadership at the FTC has not pushed back against President Donald Trump in his attempt to take control of the agency. One of the first things Trump did was sign an executive order that gave the White House the power to review the requirements of independent agencies for consistency with the president.

The FTC has been instructed to no longer refer to themselves as independent according to an email.