Once again, a key agenda issue for Trump is hitting a major blockade.
Early in this administration, Trump fired several Democrat-appointed commissioners from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
That effort is now being blocked by yet another DC judge.
When Trump fired commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, there was outrage throughout the liberal world.
Bedoya posted, “I am a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission. The president just illegally fired me. This is corruption plain and simple.”
This immediately turned into a legal battle, as the commissioners were fighting to be reinstated, and Trump was flexing, claiming it was well within his authority to replace these individuals.
Legally speaking, the appointments are supposed to be for seven years, and there can be no more than three commissioners from the same party as the sitting president.
Bedoya would eventually resign his seat, but he requested to stay in the lawsuit, hoping to be reinstated.
He stated, “For personal reasons, I can no longer afford to go without any source of income for my family.
“Applicable rules and regulations limit an FTC Commissioner’s ability to accept other employment while serving on the Commission.”
He added, “I will stay a plaintiff in our lawsuit against the President. And I won't just sit here as our consumer protection and competition agencies are gutted and politicized. We need to be able to fight fraudsters and monopolists regardless of the millions they've given politicians. That's what I want to do as a former commissioner.”
On Thursday, Trump got the bad news that the courts were siding with the dismissed officials.
Biden-appointed U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan, blistered the Trump administration, ruling, “Defendants repeatedly want 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.’
“Undermining that autonomy by allowing the President to remove Commissioners at will inflicts an exceptionally unique harm distinct from the mine run of wrongful termination cases.”
I am honestly not sure what Trump hopes to achieve her,e considering the party rules for the commission. Even if he wins this case, he cannot go over the limit of three in the same party, so Trump would have to replace one of these commissioners with another Democrat. It just seems like a fight that should be left for another day.