President Trump’s dismissal of two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is raising new questions about the future of the independent agency and what it could mean for the treatment of some businesses.

Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter said they were both illegally fired on Tuesday. It followed weeks of swirling concerns about the agency’s independence as Trump moves to expand his control at various regulatory bodies.

The move quickly sparked a slew of criticism from Democratic lawmakers and tech advocacy groups who blamed the decision in part on Trump’s recent links to technology executives who are already facing enforcement from the agency.

“This unlawful activity imperils the FTC’s ability to stand up to corporate abuses and protect consumers,” Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said Tuesday.

“Trump and [Elon] Musk want to transform a vital INDEPENDENT agency into yet another political plaything for their billionaire buddies as they continue to wage war on the rule of law itself, leaving Americans defenseless against skyrocketing prices, predatory prices and the unchecked power of monopolies,” the lawmakers added.

Bedoya, in his announcement of the firing, called out Bezos and businessman Martin Shkreli, saying the decision is “corruption plain and simple.”

“The FTC is an independent agency founded 111 years ago to fight fraudsters and monopolists,” Bedoya wrote on X Tuesday, adding, “Now, the president wants the FTC to be a lapdog for his golfing buddies.”

The Trump administration, Slaughter said, “clearly fears the accountability that opposition voices would provide if the president orders Chairman Ferguson to treat the most powerful corporations and their executives – like those that flanked the President at his inauguration – with kid gloves.”

Several Silicon Valley leaders like Amazon’s Bezos or Meta’s Zuckerberg sought to reconcile with Trump ahead of his second term, as seen by their inaugural donations, meetings at Mar-a-Lago and a ticket to the president's inauguration.

The FTC’s antitrust case against Meta, originally filed under Trump in 2020, is slated to begin next month, while the FTC has also brought........

© The Hill