In a 2-1 majority decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a federal judge’s ruling that determined it was illegal to fire Slaughter.
“The government is not likely to succeed on appeal because any ruling in its favor from this court would have to defy binding, on-point, and repeatedly preserved Supreme Court precedent,” the court wrote in the 29-page order. “Bucking such precedent is not within this court’s job description.
The order cited federal law stating FTC commissioners can only be removed “for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”
Trump fired Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya, another Biden appointee on the commission, in March without giving an explanation. However, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson maintained at the time that Trump “had the authority” to fire them. Bedoya formally resigned from the FTC in June, but Slaughter is expected to return to work this week following the appeals court’s order.
“Amid the efforts by the Trump administration to illegally abolish independent agencies, including the Federal Reserve, I’m heartened the court has recognized that he is not above the law,” she said.
“I’m very eager to get back first thing tomorrow to the work I was entrusted to do on behalf of the American people,” she added.
The Trump administration will likely appeal the case to the Supreme Court.
TRUMP FACES CONTINUED LEGAL FIGHTS OVER FIRING INDEPENDENT AGENCY HEADS
In recent months, Trump has been firing multiple members of independent federal agencies, with the terminations then challenged in court. The latest officials to have been ousted in high-profile shake-ups include former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez, Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, and Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer.
Cook filed a lawsuit last week challenging her “illegal” termination, a possibility that Monarez and McEntarfer may also consider. Slaughter and Bedoya previously sued Trump for the same reason.
