Appeals Court Reinstates Fired Democratic FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter

Appeals court reinstates fired Democratic FTC commissioner

Rebecca Kelly Slaughter can resume her work as a commissioner for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), following a decisive ruling from a federal appeals court. Slaughter was one of two Democratic commissioners fired by President Trump back in March, prompting her to file a lawsuit for reinstatement. The administration’s rationale for her dismissal was that her “continued service on the FTC is inconsistent with my administration’s priorities.”

Initially, US District Judge Loren AliKhan ruled in July that her removal was “unlawful and without legal effect,” allowing Slaughter to briefly return to her post. However, an appeals court swiftly paused that order just days later.

Now, the appeals court judges have voted 2-to-1 in favor of restoring Judge AliKhan’s original order, firmly reinstating Slaughter. Obama appointees Patricia Millett and Cornelia Pillard voted for her reinstatement, while Trump appointee Neomi Rao dissented. In their majority decision, Millett and Pillard stated that the government had “no likelihood of success on appeal” given a “controlling and directly on point Supreme Court precedent.” They referred to a precedent known as Humphrey’s Executor, which prevents presidents from removing FTC commissioners at will and without cause. Federal law specifies that commissioners can only be removed for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”

Judge Rao, in her dissent, argued that by “ordering the remaining FTC commissioners and the subordinates to treat Slaughter as though she is still in office, the district court expressly orders them to disregard the President’s directive.” She contended that this “directly interferes with the President’s supervision of the Executive Branch and therefore goes beyond the power of the federal courts.” The FTC typically comprises five commissioners: three from the president’s party and two from the opposition. After Trump fired the Democratic commissioners, only the three Republican commissioners remained.

Slaughter is now listed once again on the FTC’s website as a commissioner and is planning to report back to work today, September 3. “Amid the efforts by the Trump administration to illegally abolish independent agencies, including the Federal Reserve, I’m heartened the court has recognized that he is not above the law,” Slaughter stated in an interview. Her fellow Democratic commissioner, Alvaro Bedoya, who was also fired in March, opted to resign from the agency completely and has since taken a private-sector job.