Update: On September 22, the Supreme Court announced it would hear arguments on the firing of FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter. In a 6-3 decision, the court also allowed President Trump to remove Commissioner Slaughter while it considers the case. Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the majority’s decision, with Kagan writing that the court had “all but overturned” the Humphrey’s Executor precedent.
Timeline
September 8, 2025 – The Supreme Court allowed President Trump to remove Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter while their case continues. The administrative stay, issued by Chief Justice John Roberts, blocked a recent ruling by a federal judge that reinstated Commissioner Kelly Slaughter.
July 17, 2025 – A federal judge reinstated Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, ruling that the president cannot remove FTC commissioners without cause. The Trump administration declared their intent on appealing. Former Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya was also part of the lawsuit but submitted his formal resignation from the FTC in June, which resulted in the federal judge to dismiss his claim.
March 27, 2025 – Commissioners Bedoya and Slaughter filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over their dismissal.
March 18, 2025 – President Trump unlawfully fires FTC Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter.
Description: On March 18, President Trump unlawfully fired two members of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, before their terms would have expired. The FTC is an independent federal agency, meaning that while Commissioners are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, the actions of the Commission are intended to be shielded from presidential interference. With the removal of Commissioners Bedoya and Slaughter, the FTC only has two sitting Commissioners, which may deny the agency the quorum it needs to perform all of its duties.
The FTC’s mission is to prevent corporations and other entities from engaging in unfair competition and unfair business practices that harm the public. The FTC enforces laws and regulations prohibiting illegal monopolistic practices, where companies may try to become too large and dominate too much of the market, including by reviewing mergers and acquisitions. The FTC also focuses on antitrust activities, in which businesses may engage in illegal anticompetitive actions, like price fixing. The FTC also has stepped in to protect consumers from corporate practices like deceptive fines and fees, scams and elder fraud, data privacy violations, deceptive advertising, and more.
While the FTC does not have a mission directly related to workers’ rights or labor standards, the FTC has also taken actions on issues directly affecting workers’ rights and pay. During the Biden administration, the FTC passed a rule that would have banned noncompete clauses as conditions of employment, which prevent workers from going to work for competing employers or starting their own business ventures in the same fields. While the rule was invalidated by a federal judge, the FTC was in the process of appealing that decision. On March 12, the Trump administration paused the FTC’s defense of the ban in court, possibly signaling their intent to step away from defending the rule.