In an effort to establish more control over regulators, President Trump fired the two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission today.

Historically, the FTC’s five members have comprised three people from the same party as the president and two from the opposing party. Today, Trump terminated the roles of the two Democratic Commissioners, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya, who both claim the dismissal was illegal. That’s in reference to the 1935 Supreme Court precedent that states members of the FTC and other independent regulatory boards cannot be dismissed over policy disagreements.

“Today, the President illegally fired me from my position as a federal trade commissioner, violating the plain language of a statute and clear Supreme Court precedent,” said Slaughter. “Why? Because I have a voice. And he is afraid of what I’ll tell the American people.” Slaughter was nominated by Trump during his first term.

Bedoya, whose work, like Slaughter, has included research on research on algorithmic bias and Big Tech surveillance architecture, made his thoughts known on X, where he said his dismissal was “illegal” and amounted to “corruption.” In a separate statement, he said he’d spent his time at the commission fighting for the average worker against giant corporations, adding, “Now, the President wants the FTC to be a lapdog for his golfing buddies.”

Firing officials from independent agencies is supposed to be difficult. The rules state that Trump won’t be able to fill the positions with two Republicans. He might have to prove that these dismissals were not over policy but because of “inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.”

Slaughter went on to say the law protects the independence of the Commission because it “serves the American people, not corporate power.” She believes the commission’s objectives are not aligned with “political parties and ideologies.”

In Trump’s executive order in February, an effort the order says is intended to “rein in independent agencies to restore a government that answers to the American people,” he gave the White House more power over agencies. “Now they will no longer impose rules on the American people without oversight or accountability,” said the order.

FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson commented on the dismissals, saying Trump “is vested with all of the executive power in our government” and he has “no doubts about his constitutional authority to remove Commissioners, which is necessary to ensure democratic accountability for our government.”

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