is a news writer covering all things consumer tech. Stevie started out at Laptop Mag writing news and reviews on hardware, gaming, and AI.
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The Consumer Federation of America, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), and other consumer advocacy and tech groups are speaking up in defense of former FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, who was fired without cause by the Trump administration in March.
A total of 40 groups — which also include Demand Progress Information Center and UC Berkeley Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice — filed an amicus brief today in a Supreme Court showdown over whether Trump exceeded his legal authority with Slaughter’s dismissal. The court’s decision could upend a 90-year-old precedent known as Humphrey’s Executor, which bars presidents from firing independent commissioners without cause.
The groups argue that if this happens, independent agencies like the FTC could become politicized and influenced by lobbying, weakening their ability to effectively pass regulations. The brief points to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) as warnings, stating that they “have too often succumbed to industry domination, leading to regulatory failures that cost lives and erode public trust.”
“The historical record is clear and confirms Congress’s deliberate choice: independent agencies outperform their politicized counterparts that are structurally vulnerable to presidential meddling.”
As this brief points out, this case is less about one person’s job than it is about protecting the overall autonomy of regulators. “The independence of certain agencies like the FTC from presidential control helps promote legitimate policy decisions, protect leadership from presidential or industry pressure, and moderate administrative decisions,” it says. Protections like for-cause removal ensure those decisions are “made by experts, not pure partisans.”
The Supreme Court is scheduled to begin oral arguments for Slaughter’s case on December 8th.