FTC tells staff to stop calling the agency ‘independent’ in complaints

Staff astatine the Federal Trade Commission person been instructed to nary longer notation to the bureau arsenic “independent” successful complaints, according to an email obtained by The Verge. 

“Moving forward, erstwhile describing the Commission arsenic the Plaintiff successful a Complaint, delight way the beneath edit,” Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Christopher Mufarrige said successful a March 21st email viewed by The Verge. The email was sent to the bureau’s subordinate and determination directors, and copied to lawman directors of the unit. “The FTC is an independent bureau of the United States Government created by the FTC Act.”

It’s the latest motion that Republican enactment astatine the FTC is not pushing backmost against President Donald Trump’s unprecedented attempts to asseverate power implicit the historically autarkic agency. In February, Trump signed an enforcement order saying that the White House could “review autarkic regulatory agencies’ obligations for consistency with the President’s policies and priorities” — 1 of his archetypal steps toward bringing agencies similar the FTC nether greater scrutiny by his administration. 

On March 18th, Trump fired the 2 number Democratic commissioners astatine the FTC, defying decades-old Supreme Court precedent that says radical successful specified positions tin lone beryllium removed for cause. In their lawsuit filed Thursday, the commissioners see a copy of the letter 1 of them received from the White House astir the removals. According to the mentation successful the filing, it claims the existent FTC does not acceptable the “narrow” objection claimed successful that Supreme Court ruling (which happened to beryllium astir a president trying to region an FTC commissioner). “Your continued work connected the FTC is inconsistent with my Administration’s priorities,” says the missive connected behalf of Trump, according to the tribunal filing.

Republican FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson has expressed nationalist enactment for Trump’s actions. “My Democrat erstwhile colleagues are entitled to their time successful court, but I person nary uncertainty that President Trump’s lawful powers volition yet beryllium confirmed,” he said successful effect to the suit implicit the commissioners’ firings.