A federal judge has ruled that President Donald Trump broke the law when he fired Democratic Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter earlier this year.
U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan said the firing was “unlawful and without legal effect” and confirmed that Slaughter remains a “rightful member” of the commission. In her ruling, AliKhan said Trump’s action violated laws that protect officials at independent agencies from being removed without cause.
“These for-cause removal protections that apply to my colleagues and me at the FTC also protect other independent economic regulators like the SEC, the FDIC, and the Federal Reserve,” Slaughter said in a statement after the ruling, the New York Times reports. She also said she looks forward to returning to work.
Trump had removed both Democratic commissioners—Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya—back in March, leaving only the three Republican members in control. The FTC is traditionally made up of five members: three from the president’s party and two from the opposing party.
Currently, the FTC’s website lists only the three Republican commissioners, including Chairman Andrew Ferguson. Ferguson defended Trump’s decision, saying, “I have no doubts about [Trump’s] constitutional authority to remove Commissioners, which is necessary to ensure democratic accountability for [the] government.”
Bedoya had originally joined the lawsuit but later dropped out after resigning from the agency and taking a private-sector job. “I couldn’t afford to have no income while the case was in court,” he explained.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai said the administration plans to appeal the decision. “The Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the president’s constitutional authority to fire and remove executive officers who exercise his authority,” he told The New York Times.
Judge AliKhan anticipated the case might end up at the Supreme Court. She noted that the justices had previously declined to reinstate other independent agency officials fired by Trump, including members of the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board—both protected by similar laws.
For now, the court’s decision stands: Rebecca Slaughter was unlawfully fired and has the legal right to return to the FTC.
