Earlier this week, the D.C. Circuit reinstated Rebecca Kelly Slaughter to the Federal Trade Commission. She, along with her fellow Democratic Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya, had been fired by President Trump in March.
Slaughter and Bedoya sued, challenging the legality of the firings. Bedoya ultimately resigned from his position, so that he could take another job.
In July, a federal district court ordered that Slaughter be reinstated, but an emergency stay was granted by the D.C. Circuit pending appeal. Earlier this week, the D.C. Circuit dissolved the stay and formally denied the President's motion for stay pending appeal. The court explained, "The government has no likelihood of success on appeal given controlling and directly on point Supreme Court precedent. Specifically, ninety years ago, a unanimous Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Federal Trade Commission Act's for-cause removal protection for Federal Trade Commissioners."
Commissioner Slaughter is now back at the FTC. With the Republicans controlling the Commission, however, it's unlikely that her reinstatement will much impact on the current Chairman's agenda.
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