Aniket PujariFederal Trade Commission Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter (L) and Alvaro Bedoya (R) sit behind FTC Chair Lina Khan as she testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on July 13, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
The two Democratic commissioners at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said they were illegally fired by President Donald Trump on Tuesday, in another major test of the independence of regulatory agencies.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter released separate statements saying they had been fired from the consumer protection agency.
Trump has already sparked lawsuits by firing members of other independent agencies including the National Labor Relations Board.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1935 to uphold a law that allows FTC commissioners to be fired only for good cause, such as neglecting their duties.
The ruling shields a number of independent, bipartisan multi-member agencies from direct control by the White House.
