Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

On September 8, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an administrative stay temporarily preventing Rebecca Kelly Slaughter’s reinstatement to her former position as FTC Commissioner.  In March 2025, President Trump fired Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya, the two Democratic Commissioners of the FTC. Slaughter and Bedoya challenged their dismissals in court, but Bedoya ultimately resigned from his position. On September 2, 2025, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the federal district court opinion, holding that Slaughter was entitled to her position at the FTC, citing the “for-cause” removal protections in the FTC Act set forth in the 1935 Supreme Court decision Humphrey’s Executor v. United States. The D.C. Circuit ordered Slaughter to be reinstated. The Justice Department then appealed to the Supreme Court on an emergency basis, asking for a stay of the lower court’s reinstatement order. On September 8, 2025, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued an order temporarily staying the D.C. Circuit’s ruling and preventing Slaughter’s reinstatement while the Supreme Court fully considers the administration’s appeal.  A final decision from the Supreme Court may have significant implications for the independence of the FTC and other federal agencies.