WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, released this statement regarding today’s Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. Slaughter, which allows President Trump to fire Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter without cause:
“Today, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority overturned a 91-year-old precedent and once again delivers for President Trump. Congress created independent agencies to shield critical decisions from short-term partisan whims and to ensure bipartisan and well-reasoned decision making. By gutting these protections, the Supreme Court is throwing the door open for politics – not the public interest – to be the guiding star for future decisions. Congress must take action to preserve the ability for agencies to deliver expert, fact-based results for the American people.”
Sen. Cantwell has been sounding the alarm about the Trump Administration’s dangerous power grabs. In April, she sent a letter to Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) calling on him to invite Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioners Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya to testify at an FTC oversight hearing. In November 2025, Sen. Cantwell joined other House and Senate Democratic leaders in filing an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in Trump v. Slaughter. In September 2025, she condemned the firing of Robert Primus, one of two Democratic members of the Surface Transportation Board.
Sen. Cantwell filed an amicus brief to the U.S. District Court for D.C. in April 2025, opposing Trump’s firing of the commissioners and his attack on independent agencies, and she led a March 2025 letter calling on Trump to reverse the firings. In October 2025, Senator Cantwell led a letter to Senate Leader Thune and Chair Cruz opposing the White House’s move to replace NTSB Vice Chair Alvin Brown, whom President Trump also removed without cause and is still actively litigating his illegal firing. In April 2025, she spoke on the Senate floor in opposition to Mark Meador’s confirmation to be an FTC Commissioner, warning of the threat to the independence of the agency if only Republicans served as Commissioners.
###