WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, sent a letter to Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) calling on him to invite the unlawfully fired Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioners, Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya, to testify at the FTC oversight hearing scheduled for April 15, 2026.
“Excluding Commissioner Slaughter and Bedoya from this hearing would serve only to obscure how this Administration’s illegal effort to undo the safeguards Congress built into the FTC’s structure will expose the American people to higher prices, increased fraud, more predatory scams, and less competition,” wrote Sen. Cantwell. “The Commerce Committee should be shining a light on these dangerous risks—not acceding to them.”
Congress created the FTC more than 100 years ago and charged it with protecting Americans from unfair, deceptive, and anticompetitive business practices. The FTC was designed as an independent agency to protect it from undue political interference or retribution. The Supreme Court affirmed that independence 90 years ago, ruling that a President could not fire a commissioner without legal cause.
“But despite Congress’s clear directive and the Supreme Court’s clear precedent, President Trump is trying to unravel the FTC and commandeer unfettered control over its operations,” continued Sen. Cantwell in her letter. “On March 18, 2025, Commissioner Slaughter and Commissioner Bedoya—the only two Democrats on the FTC—each received a message from the White House on President Trump’s behalf purporting to remove them as Commissioners because their continued service was ‘inconsistent with my Administration’s priorities.’ That is the only justification the President offered for their purported removals—which is clearly insufficient under the law.”
A federal district court ruled that President Trump acted unlawfully in carrying out these dismissals. The case is currently before the Supreme Court, which issued a stay under its “shadow docket.” Nevertheless, the district court decision remains the only ruling based on the merits of the case.
“The Supreme Court’s shadow-docket order does not constrain Congress’s constitutional oversight authority or otherwise limit this Committee’s ability to call appropriate witnesses to testify on matters under its jurisdiction,” Sen. Cantwell wrote. “To the contrary, given President Trump’s ongoing effort to undo the structural protections Congress built into the FTC, we must conduct oversight over how these unprecedented actions undermine the FTC’s ability to advance the interests of the American people—from combatting the skyrocketing costs of gas and groceries, to protecting the public from online scammers and other predatory fraudsters.”
“Moreover, the issue of the proper structure of the FTC is one for Congress, starting in this Committee,” she added. “We cannot fully meet our oversight responsibility at this pivotal moment for the FTC without hearing from Commissioner Slaughter and Bedoya.”
Sen. Cantwell has been sounding the alarm about the Trump Administration’s dangerous power grabs. 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. She also filed an amicus brief to the U.S. District Court for D.C. in April 2025, opposing Trump’s unlawful firing of the commissioners and his attack on independent agencies, and 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 attempt to replace NTSB Vice Chair Alvin Brown, whom President Trump also unlawfully removed without cause.
The text of the letter can be found below and HERE.
April 8, 2026
Chairman Cruz:
I am calling on you to invite Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter and former Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya to the oversight hearing on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that you scheduled for April 15, 2026. Holding this hearing without these two witnesses—while pretending things are business as usual at the FTC—would conveniently sidestep one of the most pressing oversight issues impacting the Commission today: President Trump’s dangerous power grab at the expense of American consumers. Excluding Commissioner Slaughter and Bedoya from this hearing would serve only to obscure how this Administration’s illegal effort to undo the safeguards Congress built into the FTC’s structure will expose the American people to higher prices, increased fraud, more predatory scams, and less competition. This dramatic change also would invite unpredictable regulation that changes with every new Administration and potential corruption arising from “pay to play” treatment. The Commerce Committee should be shining a light on these dangerous risks—not acceding to them.
More than a century ago, Congress on a bipartisan basis created the FTC as an independent, multimember commission to protect Americans from harmful business practices. In doing so, Congress made the deliberate decision to limit any president’s ability to fire a Commissioner without “cause”—that is, without a showing they engaged in “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” The reason for this structure is well documented: By insulating the FTC from the immediate impulses of any given president, Congress wanted the Commission to focus on long-term economic growth and protecting the public without fear of political retribution. Congress also believed this degree of independence would allow the FTC’s actions to be “more readily accepted as impartial and well considered” by the public. Given this Administration’s demonstrated record of undermining public confidence in the neutrality of its actions, the wisdom of Congress’s vision for the FTC has only been validated over time.
And the Supreme Court has approved this design. Two decades after Congress created the FTC, the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed that a president cannot fire a Commissioner without legal cause. In reaching that conclusion, the Supreme Court found “it plain under the Constitution that illimitable power of removal is not possessed by the President.” Today, more than 90 years later, this remains the law of the land.
But despite Congress’s clear directive and the Supreme Court’s clear precedent, President Trump is trying to unravel the FTC and commandeer unfettered control over its operations. On March 18, 2025, Commissioner Slaughter and Commissioner Bedoya—the only two Democrats on the FTC—each received a message from the White House on President Trump’s behalf purporting to remove them as Commissioners because their continued service was “inconsistent with my Administration’s priorities.” That is the only justification the President offered for their purported removals—which is clearly insufficient under the law.
Soon thereafter, a federal district court declared President Trump’s attempted termination of Commissioner Slaughter to be “unlawful and without legal effect” and ruled that she “remains a rightful member of the Federal Trade Commission until the expiration of her Senate-confirmed term.” The only reason the district court did not reach the same conclusion for Commissioner Bedoya is because President Trump’s illegal removal forced Bedoya to resign from the FTC so he could secure a replacement income to support his family. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Trump Administration’s request to block the district court’s order, finding that the Administration’s position “would have to defy binding, on-point, and repeatedly preserved Supreme Court precedent.” Although the Supreme Court later intervened to stay this order under its “shadow docket,” the district court remains the only court to rule on the merits of this case—and it ruled unequivocally that President Trump acted unlawfully.
The Supreme Court’s shadow-docket order does not constrain Congress’s constitutional oversight authority or otherwise limit this Committee’s ability to call appropriate witnesses to testify on matters under its jurisdiction. To the contrary, given President Trump’s ongoing effort to undo the structural protections Congress built into the FTC, we must conduct oversight over how these unprecedented actions undermine the FTC’s ability to advance the interests of the American people—from combatting the skyrocketing costs of gas and groceries, to protecting the public from online scammers and other predatory fraudsters. Moreover, the issue of the proper structure of the FTC is one for Congress, starting in this Committee. We cannot fully meet our oversight responsibility at this pivotal moment for the FTC without hearing from Commissioner Slaughter and Bedoya.
This Committee needs to stand up against the Trump Administration’s power grabs and put American consumers first. Inviting the unlawfully removed FTC Commissioners to join their colleagues at this oversight hearing is a good—and necessary—first step. I urge you to do so.
Sincerely,
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