President Donald Trump has removed the two Democratic commissioners from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the White House confirmed, paving the way for Trump to appoint loyalists to the independent agency.
The FTC’s main role is to safeguard the public from deceptive or unfair business practices.
A White House official, speaking anonymously, confirmed the dismissal of FTC commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter.
The FTC typically has five commissioners, with representation from both major political parties.
Alvaro Bedoya, one of the dismissed commissioners, took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his outrage, claiming, “The president just illegally fired me. This is corruption plain and simple.” He also vowed to challenge the dismissal in court.
The firing of federal workers has been widespread since Trump took office in January. Trump established a “Department of Government Efficiency,” led by billionaire Elon Musk, a senior advisor and key financial supporter of Trump’s campaign.
Bedoya criticized the dismissal, stating in an X post, “The FTC is an independent agency founded 111 years ago to fight fraudsters and monopolists. Now, the president wants the FTC to be a lapdog for his golfing buddies.”
Both under Trump and former President Joe Biden, the FTC has confronted major tech companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, and Meta (Facebook’s parent company) regarding their market power.
In February, Andrew Ferguson, the newly appointed FTC chair, reassured Fox Business that ongoing cases against Amazon and Meta would continue. He emphasized his commitment to “holding Big Tech accountable.”
However, doubts remain about the future of these cases under Trump’s administration, especially considering his alignment with tech billionaires since last year’s election.
Since Trump’s victory, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made significant changes to align his company with Trump’s preferences. These include eliminating U.S. fact-checking on Facebook, appointing Trump ally Dana White to Meta’s board, and bringing in a Republican advisor to head global policy.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who visited Trump during the transition period, has worked to make his Washington Post less critical of the president. Bezos reportedly instructed the Post’s opinion section not to run columns against “personal liberties and free markets” and stopped it from endorsing Democrat Kamala Harris before the U.S. election.
Billionaires like Musk and Bezos, who supported Trump’s inauguration, have also made substantial financial contributions to his campaign committee.
