FTC’s Bedoya Steps Down While Still Suing Trump Over Dismissal

FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya, who was fired by President Donald Trump in March but has challenged the termination in court, said Monday he would formally resign the position even if victorious in his lawsuit.

Bedoya, a Democrat, noted his resignation Monday in the case in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, in which he and Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter are claiming unlawful termination.

Bedoya and Slaughter are still pursuing claims and relief, arguing that a president can’t remove an FTC commissioner without cause, citing a 90-year-old Supreme Court opinion.

Bedoya said he has been “denied the wages, benefits, and resources to which I am legally entitled as an FTC Commissioner” and that he “can no longer afford to go without any source of income for my family.”

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson in March defended Trump’s right to fire Bedoya and Slaughter, saying it was within the president’s authority “to ensure democratic accountability for our government.”

Mark R. Meador, a Republican, was confirmed in April to serve as an FTC commissioner, joining Republicans Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak.

Judge Loren L. AliKhan is presiding over Slaughter and Bedoya’s case.

The commissioners are represented by Clarick Gueron Reisbaum LLP and Protect Democracy Project Inc.

The case is Slaughter v. Trump, D.D.C., No. 1:25-cv-00909, 6/9/25.