Donald Trump Suffers Major Legal Loss in 'Deep State' War

President Donald Trump suffered a legal blow on Thursday when a federal judge ruled that his move to fire Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter, a Democrat, was illegal.

The Trump administration has appealed the ruling. Newsweek contacted the FTC for comment on Friday by email outside regular office hours.

Why It Matters

In March, Trump fired Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya, the two Democratic members of the FTC, in a move Democratic lawmakers argued undermined the body's independence.

While Friday's ruling reduces Trump's influence over the FTC, the case will likely now progress to a higher court, where the decision could be overturned.

What To Know

In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan said Trump's move to fire Slaughter was "unlawful and without legal effect" as it did not comply with federal legal protections.

She said the Trump administration wanted the FTC to be "a subservient agency subject to the whims of the President and wholly lacking in autonomy." The judge added, "That is not how Congress structured it."

Bedoya, who was fired along with Slaughter, formally resigned in June and is not part of the case.

The FTC is headed by five commissioners, of which a maximum of three can come from any one political party. There are currently three FTC commissioners. The FTC, an independent government body, is responsible for consumer protection and enforcing civil antitrust law.

In December, then-president-elect Trump said he would appoint Andrew Ferguson as the new FTC chair, replacing Lina Khan—whom The Washington Times described as "a staunch progressive."

Trump also chose former Representative Dan Bishop, a Republican from North Carolina, as the new deputy director for budget at the Office of Management and Budget, saying he would "implement my cost-cutting deregulatory agenda across agencies and root out the weaponized deep state."

Fox News reported in February that the Trump administration was seeking to overturn a 1935 Supreme Court ruling that restricted the president's power to remove executive branch agents as part of a campaign to take "greater control over independent three-letter agencies."

Shortly after Thursday's ruling, the Trump administration announced it was appealing the verdict to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The case could make its way to the Supreme Court, which has six conservative-leaning justices and three who are widely seen as liberal.

In May, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump's move to fire two Democratic members of federal labor boards could remain in place while a separate legal case continued.

What People Are Saying

Rebecca Slaughter said in a statement: "As the Court recognized today, the law is clear, and I look forward to getting back to work. The for-cause removal protections that apply to my colleagues and me at the FTC also protect other independent economic regulators like the SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission], the FDIC [Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation], and the Federal Reserve."

The White House said in a statement: "The Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the President's constitutional authority to fire and remove executive officers who exercise his authority. The Trump Administration will appeal this unlawful decision and looks forward to victory on this issue."

What Happens Next

The outcome of the Trump administration's appeal remains to be seen.