Normally, there are five FTC commissioners: two from each party and a third from the party of the President who serves as chair.
At the beginning of 2025, the five commissioners were three Democrats, Chair Lina Khan, Rebecca Slaughter, and Alvaro Bedoya, and two Republicans, Andrew Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak.
On January 20, President Trump named Commissioner Ferguson as Chair and nominated Mark Meador as the third Republican Commissioner.
Chair Khan resigned on January 25, 2025.
On March 18, 2025, President Trump fired the two remaining Democrats, Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya. Political perspectives aside, I was doubtful that Commissioners appointed to seven-year terms confirmed by the Senate could be summarily fired by a President. Looks like I may have been wrong. We’ll see.
On March 27, Slaughter and Bedoya sued for reinstatement and backpay. Although former Commissioner Bedoya has since abandoned his lawsuit, joining the American Economic Liberties Project, former Commissioner Slaughter did not.
And, on July 17, Slaughter was reinstated, just in time to vote no and dissent in the Ferguson-led FTC’s first enforcement action and in the FTC’s decision to accede to the vacatur of its Noncompete Rule.
But, yesterday (September 8), Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts temporarily stayed Commissioner Slaughter’s reinstatement.
As a result, Slaughter is now back on the sidelines until the Supreme Court decides whether her removal was lawful. Stay tuned for more.
In reality, however, I question whether the Supreme Court’s decision — whichever way it goes — will have much impact on the FTC’s actions over the next three and a half years. With a three-Republican majority, any dissenting votes of the Democrats is, at this point, purely symbolic. The true impact lies in its implications for presidential powers.