Overview

• U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan concluded that President Trump’s dismissal of Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter in March violated the FTC Act’s for-cause removal protections and described the action as “unlawful and without legal effect.”
• The court ordered Slaughter’s immediate return to the five-member commission and barred agency officials from blocking her official duties unless she is removed for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance.
• Alvaro Bedoya’s related challenge was dismissed after he resigned in June, leaving Slaughter as the sole plaintiff with a remaining four-year term.
• The White House has announced plans to appeal the decision to the D.C. Circuit, setting up a probable Supreme Court review of presidential removal authority.
• By reaffirming the 1935 Humphrey’s Executor precedent, the ruling reinforces statutory safeguards designed to preserve the independence of agencies like the FTC, SEC, FDIC, and Federal Reserve.