Consumers Last: SCOTUS Erodes Independence of Consumer Protection Agencies
Media Contact: Lisa McDonald, Vice President of Communications, 202-207-2829
Washington, DC – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter and other formerly independent agency heads across the government by allowing the president to fire them at will. This decision reverses nearly a century of Supreme Court precedent and granted President Trump significant and consolidated power.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision struck down a key barrier to the implementation of this administration’s radically anti-consumer agenda,” said NCL CEO Sally Greenberg. “Never before has a president systematically removed pro-consumer regulators with complete disregard to the letter or spirit of the law. By building the legal framework to support this White House’s firings, the Court has granted President Trump unprecedented power over the administrative state. We’ve already seen this president’s willingness to misuse his authorities for personal and partisan gain. This ruling is a loss for anyone who believes the government works for the people, not just one person.”
The Supreme Court’s decision supports the removal of some of the best consumer advocates in the nation. For example, FTC Commissioners Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya and Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Commissioners Alex Hoehn-Saric, Richard Trumka Jr., and Mary Boyle are excellent public servants who worked tirelessly to protect everyday Americans. The president dismissed them all without cause. President Trump himself had nominated Rebecca Slaughter to the agency in 2018.
In nullifying nearly a century of protections for independent regulators from at-will firing, the Court has taken unprecedented power away from Congress and given it to President Trump. The decision may impact the implementation of laws concerning consumer protection, labor rights, transportation safety, nuclear energy, and more.
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About the National Consumers League (NCL)
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.
