2 days Ago
Amid a slew of controversial firings by President Donald Trump’s administration since he retook office, Utah’s former solicitor general has become embroiled in a legal dispute over whether seemingly political terminations were illegal. Melissa Holyoak left former Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes’ office last year after then-President Joe Biden nominated her to fill a vacancy on the five-seat Federal Trade Commission. Under statute, no more than three members can be from the same political party, and Holyoak took a Republican slot.
But shortly after Trump moved into the White House, he kicked the remaining two Democrats off the commission. After receiving an email in mid-March informing them that Trump was, “effective immediately,” removing them from the body, commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter are suing the president, the FTC’s executive director, its Republican chair and the other Republican on the commission — Holyoak. They allege the action is “in direct violation of a century of federal law and Supreme Court precedent.
” “The President’s action is indefensible under governing law,” the complaint reads. “This Court should declare the President’s attempted removals unlawful and ineffective; permanently enjoin the FTC Chairman, Commissioner Holyoak, and the FTC Executive Director from taking any action that would prevent Plaintiffs from fulfilling their duties as Commissioners and serving out the remainder of their terms.” Bedoya’s seven-year term was set to expire in 2026, and Slaughter’s in 2029.
The independent commission was created over a century ago to protect consumers and prevent monopolies by promoting fair competition. Moving away from the bipartisan nature of the agency, the removed commissioners contend, could upend that mission. They say Holyoak was complicit in their firing by allowing Bedoya and Slaughter to be barred from their offices and cut off from the commission’s technology systems, including their individual email accounts.
Defendants have not yet filed their response to the complaint. An email requesting comment from Holyoak, sent to the FTC’s public affairs office, was not returned. Holyoak issued a statement defending Trump the day after he purportedly fired Bedoya and Slaughter, which she also posted on social media.
It read, “As I have said before, the President has the constitutional authority to remove Commissioners. President Trump exercised that authority yesterday. But this does not change the FTC’s mission or the urgency of our work.
” pic.twitter.com/drGgdPLQa2 Utah’s former solicitor general has likewise celebrated how Trump’s executive orders meant to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion efforts would impact the agency.
The left-leaning, anti-trust think tank Open Markets Institute’s senior legal analyst, Daniel Hanley, responded to the statement by saying it showcases that Holyoak is a “sycophant for Trump,” and criticizing how she portrayed the agency in introducing her remarks. “Notice that she said ‘preventing fraud’ rather than (or including) ‘unfairness,’” Hanley wrote. “To the extent she supports consumer protection, she’s indicating that she has an unduly narrow vision of what work should be done.
” Jeffrey Chester, who heads the online protections advocacy group Center for Digital Democracy, said in a post that Holyoak’s statement was “absurd,” adding, “By not standing up for an independent & bipartisan agency, you have upended its mission, legacy and role. You owe your colleagues an apology too.” Senate Democrats, many of whom participated in confirmation processes for Bedoya and Slaughter — as well as Holyoak — filed a friend-of-the-court brief Monday, saying the removals were “unlawfully” executed.
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