Judge rules Trump's firing of FTC commissioner was illegal
US District Judge Loren AliKhan said the Trump administration's attempt to remove Slaughter did not comply with removal protections in federal law.
'Because those protections remain constitutional, as they have for almost a century, Ms. Slaughter's purported removal was unlawful and without legal effect,' AliKhan wrote.
'As the Court recognized today, the law is clear, and I look forward to getting back to work,' said Slaughter in a statement. 'The for-cause removal protections that apply to my colleagues and me at the FTC also protect other independent economic regulators like the SEC, the FDIC, and the Federal Reserve. '
The dispute over Trump's firing of Alvaro Bedoya and Slaughter in March will inevitably end up before the US Supreme Court, which ruled 90 years ago that FTC commissioners may be dismissed only for good cause, such as neglecting their duties. Bedoya formally resigned in June to take another job and is not part of the case.
That ruling has protected the independence of agencies that regulate road safety, stock markets, telecommunications, monetary policy and more, shielding them from direct White House control.
The Supreme Court, however, signaled it could strip that protection from agencies such as the Merit Systems Protection Board and National Labor Relations Board. Its ruling in May allowed Trump to keep two Democratic members of those boards sidelined while they challenge their terminations. The Supreme Court is led by a 6-3 conservative majority.
The White House said, 'the Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the President's constitutional authority to fire and remove executive officers who exercise his authority. The Trump Administration will appeal this unlawful decision and looks forward to victory on this issue.' The FTC declined to comment.
AliKhan said the Trump administration wants 'the FTC to be something it is not: a subservient agency subject to the whims of the President and wholly lacking in autonomy. But that is not how Congress structured it.'
The FTC, currently led by three Republicans, is structured so that no more than three of its five commissioners come from the same party.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
More Republican lawmakers call out Canada over wildfire smoke
WASHINGTON — More Republican lawmakers are calling out Canada because of wildfires sending smoke billowing across the international border into their states. Wisconsin state Rep. Calvin Callahan has joined other Republican state lawmakers from Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota in filing a formal complaint against Canada to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the International Joint Commission. In a news release issued today, Callahan says that 'if Canada can't get these wildfires under control, they need to face real consequences.' He joins a chorus of Republican politicians at other levels of government who have been voicing concerns about Canada's wildfires. Michigan Rep. Jack Bergman sent a letter to Canadian Sen. Michael MacDonald on Monday calling for stronger forest management policies and more accountability from Canadian officials. Michigan Rep. John James sent a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney last week saying his constituents are choking on toxic wildfire smoke. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 6, 2025. Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Insider
10 minutes ago
- Business Insider
What Apple's $100 billion US pledge really means — and what it doesn't mean
At a White House event scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, Apple is going to announce plans to invest $100 billion in US manufacturing. Is this a real plan, with real money? A bit of stagecraft designed to give Donald Trump a public win for his reshoring push? Or a way for Apple to keep on the right side of Trump tariffs that could cause great harm to the company? Yes. And yes. And yes. Here's what we know about Apple's plans, via news reports and the White House press office. (Apple hasn't responded to a request for comment, but the White House was happy to confirm the reports in advance of the event, which is supposed to feature both Trump and Apple CEO Tim Cook.) In February, Apple said it would invest $500 billion and hire 20,000 US employees over the next four years. Now Apple is going to add another $100 billion to that commitment, though there's no word about any potential hiring increase. But this isn't the first time Apple has announced a pledge like this. In 2021 — when Joe Biden was president — it announced a plan to invest $430 billion in the US over five years and hire 20,000 employees. Some of those plans involved new construction, like a new "engineering hub" in North Carolina. Others involved expansions of existing facilities, or construction that was already underway, like a $1 billion campus in Austin. As Bloomberg notes, Apple's announcement from February was really an acceleration of its earlier plans — it meant Apple was planning to spend an extra $39 billion a year, and to increase its hiring plans by 1,000 people a year. Using that same logic, Apple's Wednesday announcement means it is planning on spending another $25 billion a year above its earlier plans. (Again: No word, yet, about any additional hiring.) So that's definitely some additional spending. Will Apple make iPhones in the US? Does that mean Apple is going to start making iPhones in the US, as Trump has demanded? No. As we've discussed before, recreating the supply chain Apple would need to make iPhones in the US seems close to impossible. And certainly not something that Apple could pull off in a few years — if it even wanted to. But getting to stand next to the CEO of one of the world's most valuable companies, while that CEO says he's going to invest in America, is most definitely valuable to Trump. And it's not as if any particular number means much to Trump, who recently announced he was going to reduce drug prices by "1,500 percent," which is definitely not possible. Trump is also flexible when it comes to announcements about Trump-directed spending in America. Like when he stood next to Cook during his first term and announced that Apple had opened a new plant in Texas at his behest. Also not true. What does Apple get in return? It would most obviously like permanent relief from Trump's tariffs. So far, Trump has granted Apple some immunity from some of his tariffs on foreign manufacturing — but not all of them, which is why Apple has said it will have paid some $2 billion in tariffs over its last two quarters. Apple and other tech companies are also hoping Trump will keep pushing on their behalf to beat down other countries' tech regulations. Apple is particularly vexed by the European Union, which has forced the company to do things like change its iPhone chargers and open up its App Store. So yes: Apple is spending money in the US. And no: It's not exactly the story Donald Trump would like to tell.
Fox News
10 minutes ago
- Fox News
'This is the language Russia understands': Expert praises Trump's hard power strategy
Palantir Technologies Defense Head Mike Gallagher discusses President Donald Trump threatening sanctions on Russia ahead of Special Envoy Steve Witkoff's meeting with officials over achieving a ceasefire deal.
