Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Andrew Ferguson on Wednesday defended President Trump’s decision to fire the agency’s Democratic commissioners.
FTC commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya were dismissed from their roles in March, with the administration telling the former commissioners their continued service at the FTC was “inconsistent” with its policies.
The pair sued the administration last week, arguing their firings were unlawful under a 90-year-old Supreme Court precedent that bars the president from removing leaders of independent agencies without cause.
Ferguson stood by the administration’s decision during an appearance at Y Combinator’s Little Tech Competition Summit on Wednesday.
“I’m firmly of the view that he had the authority, and that independent agencies [are] not good for a democracy,” Ferguson said.
“All powerful executive branch officials should be accountable to the people on whose behalf we are governing, and the only person in the executive branch that gets elected is the president,” he continued.
Trump has fired Democratic appointees at several independent agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board, since taking office.
The firings tee up a likely legal battle over the Supreme Court precedent established by Humphrey’s Executor v. United States. The Trump administration has contended that the removal protections for independent agencies are unconstitutional.
The White House last week pledged to defend the FTC firings in court.
“The time was right to let these people go, and the president absolutely has the authority to do it. And they were given ample notice in the letter that I believe your outlet reported on, so it pretty much explains exactly why this administration chose to let those individuals go,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
“The goal was to let these individuals go. … [If we have] to fight it all the way to the Supreme Court, we certainly will,” she added.
