Trump purges Democrats from US Federal Trade Commission

One of two Democrats on the US Federal Trade Commission announced Tuesday that President Donald Trump had fired him from the agency, which is intended to guard against unfair business practices.

The only other Democratic commissioner was also fired, US media reported. The move would appear to open the door for Trump to appoint loyalists at what is meant to be an independent agency.

"The president just illegally fired me," FTC commissioner Alvaro Bedoya wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "This is corruption plain and simple."

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The FTC consists of five commissioners, typically representing both major political parties.

Bedoya vowed in an X post to "see the president in court" over the dismissal.

Layoffs of federal workers have been rampant since Trump took office in January and established a "Department of Government Efficiency" headed by billionaire Elon Musk, a senior advisor and key financial backer of the Republican's campaign.

"The FTC is an independent agency founded 111 years ago to fight fraudsters and monopolists," Bedoya said in a post. "Now, the president wants the FTC to be a lapdog for his golfing buddies."

The other Democrat on the commission, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, also said she was fired, US media reported.

The White House did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

Under Trump and former President Joe Biden, the FTC has taken on Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook-parent Meta over how they wield market power.

In an interview with Fox Business in February, newly appointed FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson confirmed that ongoing cases against Amazon and Meta would proceed, emphasizing his commitment to "holding Big Tech's feet to the fire."

Questions have lingered on whether the Trump presidency will continue with the cases, given an apparent alignment between tech billionaires and the Republican since he won last year's election.

Since that victory, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made major changes at his company to bring it in line with Trump's preferences. He has axed US fact-checking on Facebook, named Trump ally Dana White to Meta's board and appointed a Republican advisor as head of global policy.

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos visited the president during the transition period, and has sought to make his Washington Post newspaper less hostile to the president.

The billionaire has ordered the Post's opinion section not to run columns opposed to "personal liberties and free markets," and quashed its planned endorsement of Democrat Kamala Harris before the US election.

Musk, Bezos and other tech billionaires were given prominent places at Trump's inauguration in January, with several making million-dollar donations to the committee organizing the event.