Washington, D.C. — Today, Consumer Federation of America joined a “friend of the court” amicus brief in support of Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter. Earlier this year, President Trump attempted to fire Commissioner Slaughter without cause, prompting a legal challenge that is now before the Supreme Court. The Court is poised to decide whether it will grant President Trump unbridled power to remove leaders at independent agencies like the FTC for no reason, despite nearly a century of legal precedent that shields them from such unjustified meddling.
“Congress designed the FTC as an independent commission to resist political pressure,” said Erin Witte, Director of Consumer Protection at Consumer Federation of America. “That’s not a bug—it’s a critical feature. Allowing President Trump to fire our economic regulators at will jeopardizes their ability to police concentrated power and abusive conduct, and it puts Americans finances, freedom, and faith in our government squarely at risk.”
This brief was led by CFA, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), and Demand Progress Education Fund, and filed by the Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice at U.C. Berkeley School of Law and the law firm Berger Montague.
Background on Slaughter v. Trump and what is at stake:
The FTC’s independence has been critical over the years in protecting consumers and open markets. Nearly 100 years ago, the Supreme Court recognized that FTC decisions are driven by the expertise and “trained judgment” of the Commissioners. Removal protections have helped ensure expert-driven policy decisions on everything from tobacco warnings to data privacy and insulated the FTC from political interference and corporate corruption. Additionally, the protections that apply to the Federal Trade Commission apply to more than two dozen government agencies whose role is to protect the safety and interests of American consumers and markets against corporate wrongdoing.
A decision to overturn these protections would allow any sitting President to corrupt independent agencies on behalf of political cronies and corporate campaign donors instead of allowing experts to focus on benefiting the American people. If tech billionaires can buy their way onto the FTC and similar agencies like the Consumer Safety Protection Commission, there won’t be anyone stopping large corporations from consolidating power and raising prices or Big Tech from harvesting and selling kids’ online data.
Congress sought to insulate agencies like the FTC from presidential reprisal to ensure that they apply sound judgment and independent expertise. The law states that the President can only remove an FTC Commissioner for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” For nearly 100 years, the Supreme Court has upheld these removal protections established by Congress as constitutional, finding it “plain under the Constitution that illimitable power of removal is not possessed by the President.”