Fired FTC Commissioners Warn of Potential White House Influence Over Mergers

The White House did not respond to an emailed inquiry regarding the commissioners’ warnings, but spokesperson Taylor Rogers stated that Trump has the legal authority to make such personnel decisions. “President Trump has the lawful authority to manage personnel within the executive branch. President Trump will continue to rid the federal government of bad actors unaligned with his common sense agenda the American people decisively voted for,” Rogers said in an emailed statement, per NBC News.

The FTC, established in 1914 to combat monopolies, traditionally operates with five members—three from the president’s party and two from the opposition. Although it falls under the executive branch, it has historically functioned independently. With the recent firings, it remains unclear who, if anyone, will fill the now-vacant seats.

Slaughter and Bedoya told NBC News that their removal could allow the administration to influence regulatory decisions, particularly in cases where major corporate mergers involve political allies of the president. “A lot of what commissioners can do is blow the whistle,” Bedoya noted, emphasizing that they no longer have a platform to publicly challenge potential conflicts of interest.

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Slaughter voiced concerns about the FTC’s ability to prevent monopolistic behavior in the absence of bipartisan oversight. “What we can do as members of the opposition party and the minority party is provide accountability and transparency to that decision-making in the worst-case scenario,” she said. “When the FTC works at its best is when you develop bipartisan consensus around policies.”

According to NBC News, both former commissioners fear that Trump’s decision to remove them could ultimately weaken the agency’s regulatory power, particularly when it comes to blocking mergers that could harm competition. Slaughter pointed out that the FTC is currently engaged in litigation against several major corporations, some of whose executives attended Trump’s inauguration.

Trump’s inauguration was notable for the presence of prominent industry leaders, including Amazon executive chairman Jeff Bezos, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and X owner Elon Musk, who now oversees the controversial Department of Government Efficiency. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella did not attend but has publicly extended support to Trump, with Microsoft donating $1 million to the inauguration fund. Other tech giants, including Google, Meta, and Amazon, also contributed financially, while Musk personally donated over $20 million to Trump’s campaign.

Related: Trump Fires Two Democratic FTC Members, Raising Questions Over Regulatory Independence

Under Biden, Slaughter and Bedoya actively opposed mergers they believed could stifle competition and harm consumers. Bedoya specifically warned about the risk of undue influence. “Let’s say there’s a merger, and one of the president’s donors has a stake in that merger. In a world where the president can fire anyone at any time, there’s going to be a call from the White House to the FTC saying, you know, ‘Hey, I like this merger. This one’s a good one. Why don’t you let this one go through?’” he said.

NBC News reports that Ferguson later addressed the issue publicly, affirming his belief in Trump’s legal authority to remove commissioners. Posting on X, he stated, “President Donald J. Trump is the head of the executive branch and is vested with all of the executive power in our government. I have no doubts about his constitutional authority to remove Commissioners, which is necessary to ensure democratic accountability for our government. The Federal Trade Commission will continue its tireless work to protect consumers, lower prices, and police anticompetitive behavior.”

Source: NBC News