Summary

Donald Trump fired FTC Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, the agency’s only Democrats, prompting accusations of illegal action.

Both cited Supreme Court precedent protecting FTC commissioners from dismissal without cause. Bedoya warned Trump wants the FTC to serve corporate interests, while Slaughter said the administration fears accountability.

The 1935 Supreme Court ruling bars presidents from removing FTC commissioners arbitrarily.

Critics say the move undermines regulatory independence and eliminates opposition voices that could challenge Trump’s policies favoring major corporations.

  • randon31415@lemmy.world
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    13 days ago

    Biden: “I can’t fire a postmaster general who actively tried to sabotage the election against me in 2020 because it would be against the law.”

    Trump: " I fired someone who SCOTUS directly said i can’t fire because some people openly bribed me"

    • pulsewidth@lemmy.world
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      13 days ago

      Hey at least they have the moral high ground - they’ll have a good view watching the country sink into fascism from up there

    • andros_rex@lemmy.world
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      13 days ago

      Or Biden and the 10k$ of student debt - which he buckled on basically immediately. Handouts to donors are okay, helping Americans isn’t.

      • pahlimur@lemmy.world
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        13 days ago

        This is a perfect example of why refuting bullshit is so much harder than generating it or spreading it.

        The Biden admin tried several times to forgive debt and was stopped by every republican and finally the Supreme Court. They didn’t drop it, they were forced to stop by Republicans after repeated attempts. If they didn’t find a legal path to forgiveness, it could be clawed back easily in the future.

        The Trump administration can do whatever the fuck it wants right now because Republicans are letting them with their overall majority.

        • BigMacHole@lemm.ee
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          13 days ago

          And as Trump has shown us the Supreme Court has LOTS of Teeth so you BETTER listen to them!

          • pahlimur@lemmy.world
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            13 days ago

            More unnuanced bullshit, that’s objectively false, with small grains of truth. Makes people think Biden had the same backing Trump does now, which is false.

  • LupusBlackfur@lemmy.world
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    14 days ago

    Most blatantly and openly venal miserable and horrible attempt at an “administration” in the last 60yrs… Likely in US history.

    Helluva legacy for you Chump! Good one!

    🙄 🙄 🖕 🖕 🖕

    • TheObviousSolution@lemm.ee
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      13 days ago

      The fact that approval ratings for Trump are still as high as they are while the approval for the only other far, far, far lesser evil you can vote, the Democrats, is sinking, does not give me any hope whatsoever for the US, were I naive enough to believe that the next elections that matter could come soon enough or that they would still remain legitimate. The US no longer has a trace of Democracy except for the mask it wears, it is at the same or even lower level than Russia’s.

      • LupusBlackfur@lemmy.world
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        13 days ago

        Sorry wasn’t more clear…

        I’ve been alive 60+ years so 60yrs is “in my lifetime”… What I witnessed…

        The rest, I assume, is clear.

  • Feathercrown@lemmy.world
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    13 days ago

    What I don’t understand is, in what sense did he actually fire you? It’s illegal. Just show up to work anyways.

    • RedditSucks88@lemmy.world
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      13 days ago

      Why do people keep saying this is illegal lol. Just because you don’t agree with something doesn’t make it illegal. Don’t you think some high powered lawyer would offer to fight this for them?

      • Zedd_Prophecy@lemmy.world
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        13 days ago

        Did you not read the article OR the comments? ? ? I quote an above op who paraphrased the law. “They do have a ruling. 1935. May not without cause. Specific language is inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.”

      • Feathercrown@lemmy.world
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        13 days ago

        Alternatively, it’s illegal because it was confirmed to be illegal by the supreme court in 1935. Why would you assume we’re not speaking truthfully?

  • Phoenixz@lemmy.ca
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    13 days ago

    Enjoy your tiered internet, US citizens! Want to access cnn.com? That’s in the special site, requires the premium package of 150/month extra but we’ll throw in free reddit.com

    • Girru00@lemmy.world
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      13 days ago

      Hey bud, FTC, not FCC. Both woulf be bad but this might be worse.

      FTC website (current 20250319)

      The Commission is headed by five Commissioners, nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, each serving a seven-year term. No more than three Commissioners can be of the same political party. The President chooses one Commissioner to act as Chair.

      FTC website (current 20250319)

      The FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection stops unfair, deceptive and fraudulent business practices by collecting reports from consumers and conducting investigations, suing companies and people that break the law, developing rules to maintain a fair marketplace, and educating consumers and businesses about their rights and responsibilities.

  • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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    13 days ago

    This makes no sense unless he can’t get his own people on the FTC or the FTC Republicans aren’t amenable to his agenda. It’s a bipartisan agency and the head leaving earlier left a spot open to swing the 5 person board to the Republicans.

    • qarbone@lemmy.world
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      13 days ago

      Why are you still expecting nuance? They’re Democrats and haven’t kissed his ass yet. That means they’re on the chopping block.

      • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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        13 days ago

        Entirely possible with this asshole. And with more coffee on board it strikes me that making the FTC unable to function at all may be the goal.

    • InvertedParallax@lemm.ee
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      13 days ago

      I don’t understand why the Fuhrer voted himself additional emergency powers, he should have as much power as he needs as chancellor of the reichstag?

  • Wren@lemmy.world
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    13 days ago

    So, let’s say after we add this to the already massive stack of criminal acts he and his jackbooted loyalists have done, we all gather around and admire how big it is while the few who remain that are capable of doing anything at all about it- do absolutely nothing at all about it.

    • crazyhotpasta@lemm.ee
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      13 days ago

      Dude is trying to be like undercover cops. “RedditSucks” and “88” in a same package lmao we all believe u bro 👍🏼🤣

    • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
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      13 days ago

      No, this one is pretty clear. The FTC chairs very specifically cannot be made up of members of a single party, with a maximum ratio of 3 members of one party to 2 of others.

      If he really wanted to skirt the law without ipenly defying it, he could invent a new, fake, political party for replacement commissioners. But Trump has zero interest in obeying the law now that he’s been specifically granted immunity from prosecution for violation of the law.

    • Girru00@lemmy.world
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      13 days ago

      They do have a ruling. 1935. May not without cause. Specific language is inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office. So your point is…?