U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono accused President Donald Trump of clearing the way for large corporations to operate without legal reigns after the only two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission were fired on Tuesday. 

What You Need To Know

  • Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter confirmed that they were told they were fired. Both called the action illegal and said they intended to go to court to retain their positions on the five-member commission
  • The FTC operates as an independent regulator that upholds consumer protection standards and antitrust laws
  • After Tuesday’s firings, FTC chair Anderw Ferguson (who had engaged in an exchange of social media barbs with Alvaro just a day earlier) insisted Trump was within his constitutional authority to remove the two commissioners
  • Hirono: 'Elon Musk and Trump’s other billionaire cronies don’t want anyone to stand in their way when they screw over consumers and small businesses'

 

Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter confirmed they received notice of their firing. Both called the action illegal and said they intended to go to court to retain their positions on the five-member commission.

The FTC operates as an independent regulator that upholds consumer protection standards and antitrust laws. Commissioners serve staggered, seven-year terms. Slaughter was a year into her second term. Alvaro had four years remaining in her term.

By law, only three commissioners from the same party can serve on the commission at the same time. The FTC website currently lists only two commissioners: chair Andrew Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak. Trump nominee Mark Meador has yet to be confirmed by the Senate.

“Yesterday, President Trump claimed to fire two Commissioners of the Federal Trade Commission,” Hirono said in a statement released on Wednesday. “The FTC is an independent agency, and Trump’s action is illegal under a unanimous 1935 Supreme Court decision.”

The Federal Trade Commission Act provides for the president to dismiss commissioners but only for “inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.” In 1935, the Supreme Court sided with FTC commissioner William Humphrey, whom President Franklin Roosevelt sought to fire over his perceived reluctance to support the New Deal.

After Tuesday’s firings, Ferguson (who had engaged in an exchange of social media barbs with Alvaro just a day earlier) insisted Trump was within his constitutional authority to remove the two commissioners.

Hirono disagreed.

“Trump is going after the FTC because it exists to protect consumers and small businesses against unfair, deceptive, and anticompetitive acts by mega-corporations,” she said. “In other words, Elon Musk and Trump’s other billionaire cronies don’t want anyone to stand in their way when they screw over consumers and small businesses.

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.