Appeals court denies government’s request to block FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter from returning to work

Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit today denied a motion from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to stay Rebecca Kelly Slaughter’s reinstatement to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The denial follows a lower court ruling that President Trump’s attempt to fire Commissioner Slaughter in March was illegal. Absent an intervening order, Commissioner Slaughter will be allowed to return to work immediately.

In its opinion denying the stay of appeal, the Court wrote, “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.”

Commissioner Slaughter sued the Trump administration after the President attempted to fire her without legal cause in March, in defiance of federal removal protections and nearly a century of Supreme Court precedent. She was denied access to the federal building where she worked and could not access government servers or her email. Her staff were placed on administrative leave. 

On July 17, a federal district court judge ruled in Commissioner Slaughter’s favor, writing, “Defendants’ attempt to remove Ms. Slaughter from her position as an FTC Commissioner did not comply with the FTC Act’s removal protections. Because those protections remain constitutional, as they have for almost a century, Ms. Slaughter’s purported removal was unlawful and without legal effect.”

In an unusual move, the DOJ filed emergency motions for a stay with both the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals on July 18. Following the district court’s denial of the motion, the motion at the appellate court has now also been denied.

“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,” Commissioner Slaughter 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.”

“Every other President since 1935 has followed the law and respected Congress’s judgment that FTC Commissioners should not be fired without cause,” said Amit Agarwal, special counsel for Protect Democracy. “It’s not an ‘emergency’ for the current President to have to do the same thing. Congress intentionally structured the FTC to reap the benefits of diverse and dissenting viewpoints like our client’s, but President Trump is unlawfully trying to rewrite that law by fiat.”  

“The Circuit Court recognized that this case is controlled by binding Supreme Court precedent.” said Aaron Crowell, partner at Clarick, Gueron and Reisbaum, LLP. “Now Commissioner Slaughter can get back to work, and the FTC can have the kind of bipartisan oversight that make independent agencies so valuable.” 

“We have the Constitution and nearly a century of Supreme Court precedent on our client’s side in this case,” said Larry Schwarztol, co-counsel and faculty director of the Democracy and Rule of Law Clinic at Harvard Law School. “Congress created removal protections for FTC commissioners to ensure they can make decisions in the best interest of the American people without fear of improper interference.”