November 13, 2025 News

Berger Montague Joins 40 Consumer Protection and Privacy Groups in Amicus Brief Challenging Trump’s Attempted Firing of FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter

Today, Berger Montague, a leading national plaintiffs’ law firm, and 40 consumer protection, data privacy, and competition groups from 10 states and the District of Columbia submitted an amicus brief in Trump v. Slaughter, a case challenging the President’s attempted firing of Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter. The brief supports Commissioner Slaughter’s reinstatement to the FTC and urges the Supreme Court to uphold nearly a century of precedent protecting members of independent agencies like the FTC from at-will presidential removal without cause.

“We are honored to represent dozens of leading consumer, data privacy, and competition organizations in filing this amicus brief in support of FTC Commissioner Slaughter—a strong independent Commissioner President Trump fired without cause,” said Shareholder Paul Bland. “Congress intentionally designed independent agencies like the FTC to operate free from political interference, with statutory protections that prohibit at-will removal and allow commissioners to make decisions based on expertise and public safety—not partisan or industry pressure.”

“Our brief underscores the importance of preserving these safeguards, which are essential to maintaining public trust in the integrity of our regulatory system,” added Associate Julia R. McGrath.

The brief, led by Consumer Federation of America, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), Demand Progress Education Fund, the Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice at U.C. Berkeley School of Law, and the law firm Berger Montague, contends that the FTC’s independence has been critical over the years to protecting consumers and open markets. Nearly 100 years ago, the Supreme Court recognized that FTC decisions are driven by the expertise and “trained judgment” of the Commissioners. Removal protections have helped ensure expert-driven policy decisions on everything from tobacco warnings to data privacy and insulated the FTC from political interference and corporate corruption. Additionally, the protections that apply to the Federal Trade Commission apply to more than two dozen government agencies whose role is to protect the safety and interests of American consumers and markets against corporate wrongdoing. A decision to overturn these protections would allow any sitting President to corrupt independent agencies on behalf of political cronies and corporate campaign donors instead of allowing experts to focus on benefiting the American people. If tech billionaires can buy their way onto the FTC and similar agencies like the Consumer Safety Protection Commission, there won’t be anyone stopping large corporations from consolidating power and raising prices or Big Tech from harvesting and selling kids’ online data.

Congress sought to insulate agencies like the FTC from presidential reprisal to ensure that they apply sound judgment and independent expertise. The law states that the President can only remove an FTC Commissioner for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” For nearly 100 years, the Supreme Court has upheld these removal protections established by Congress as constitutional, finding it “plain under the Constitution that illimitable power of removal is not possessed by the President.”

Berger Montague is one of the nation’s preeminent law firms focusing on complex civil litigation, class actions, and mass torts in federal and state courts throughout the United States. With more than $2.4 billion in 2025 post-trial judgments alone, the Firm is a leader in the fields of complex litigation, antitrust, consumer protection, defective products, environmental law, employment law, securities, and whistleblower cases, among many other practice areas. For over 55 years, Berger Montague has played leading roles in precedent-setting cases and has recovered over $50 billion for its clients and the classes they have represented. Berger Montague is headquartered in Philadelphia and has offices in Chicago; Malvern, PA; Minneapolis; San Diego; San Francisco; Toronto, Canada; Washington, D.C., and Wilmington, DE.

The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) is an association of non-profit consumer organizations, established in 1968, to advance the consumer interest through research, advocacy, and education.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is a public interest research center in Washington, DC established in 1994 to protect privacy, freedom of expression, and democratic values in the information age.

Demand Progress Education Fund is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) entity that educates our nearly one million members and the broader public about matters pertaining to the impacts of corporate power over our economy and democracy.

The Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law is the nation’s leading academic center dedicated to ensuring safe, equal, and fair access to the marketplace.

Contact:

Amy Wall-Monte
awallmonte@bergermontague.com

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