Democrats in Congress urge Trump to reverse FTC firings

Audio By Carbonatix

Enlarge

By Jody Godoy

(Reuters) -President Donald Trump should reinstate two Democratic commissioners at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and use the agency to help consumers, 55 Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives said in a letter to the White House on Thursday.

Democratic U.S. Representatives Jesus “Chuy” Garcia of Illinois and Jerry Nadler of New York, the ranking Democrat on the House antitrust subcommittee, led the letter calling the firings “a giveaway for predatory corporations.”

The firings of Democratic Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter on March 18 drew sharp criticism from Democratic senators and antimonopoly groups concerned that the move was designed to remove opposition within the agency to big corporations.

Meta Platforms, Microsoft and OpenAI, which all donated to Trump’s inauguration, face FTC probes or cases, the members said.

“Rather than simply serving the interests of wealthy corporations and donors, you should utilize the authority of the FTC to address the affordability crisis in this country,” the members wrote.

While praising FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson’s move to launch a labor market task force, the representatives said he should also probe consolidation in markets that affect housing and food prices, such as home construction firms and egg-laying chicken hatcheries.

The Department of Justice is already probing the cost of eggs, which reached record highs earlier this year.

The members also asked the FTC to call for public comment on consumer debt, with a focus on the sports betting and insurance industries.

(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New YorkEditing by Marguerita Choy)