The Steady Drip: Trump Asks Supreme Court to Uphold His Firing of FTC Commissioner (Connecting the Dots: Rebecca Slaughter, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Yale University, Sidley Austin LLP, Barack Obama & Soros Funding, All Networking)

Trump Asks Supreme Court to Uphold His Firing of FTC Commissioner (Connecting the Dots: Rebecca Slaughter, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Yale University, Sidley Austin LLP, Barack Obama & Soros Funding, All Networking)

A federal appeals court reinstated Rebecca Slaughter as a member of the Federal Trade Commission on Sept. 2.

The Epoch Times

Matthew Vadum

9/4/2025|Updated: 9/4/2025

Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter testifies before a Senate subcommittee in Washington on Nov. 27, 2018. Leah Millis/Reuters

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trump-asks-supreme-court-to-uphold-his-firing-of-ftc-commissioner-5910634?ea_src=frontpage&ea_med=section-1

President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Sept. 4 to let him fire Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member Rebecca Slaughter after a federal appeals court reinstated her two days before.

Slaughter, formerly chief counsel to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), was first appointed by Trump in 2018 to a seat reserved for Democrats on the panel, then reappointed in 2023 by President Joe Biden.

Trump fired Slaughter earlier this year. In a letter explaining the decision, the White House said keeping her in place would be inconsistent with the Trump administration’s priorities.

The president’s attempt to fire the FTC member is the latest development in his ongoing effort to remove personnel from independent federal agencies whose appointees traditionally have been shielded from termination without cause.

Some lower courts that have rejected Trump’s efforts to fire members of independent federal agencies have cited a 1935 Supreme Court precedent known as Humphrey’s Executor v. United States in their written decisions. That precedent upheld legal limitations Congress imposed on removing members of the FTC, an independent federal agency.

On Sept. 2, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit voted 2-1 to affirm a federal district court’s ruling allowing Slaughter to remain in her post.

Circuit Judge Neomi Rao dissented from the ruling, saying that the FTC “exercises significant executive power,” and that other factors also favor the government in the case.

In the new emergency application in Trump v. Slaughter, Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the nation’s highest court that it can allow the firing of Slaughter without overturning Humphrey’s Executor.

“Like those other agencies, the modern FTC exercises substantial executive power.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Rebecca Slaughter

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Slaughter

Rebecca Kelly Slaughter (born August 6, 1981) is an American attorney serving as a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Slaughter was fired by President Trump on March 18, 2025 but was temporarily reinstated to her position by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in July 2025.[1][2] Slaughter was previously the acting chair of the Federal Trade Commission from January 21, 2021, to June 15, 2021.

Early life and education

Slaughter was born Rebecca Joy Kelly on August 6, 1981, in New York City.[4] She graduated from Yale University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts. Slaughter spent a year as a paralegal in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office before attending Yale Law School, where she was an editor of The Yale Law Journal.[4] She graduated in 2008 with a Juris Doctor degree.

Career

Slaughter was an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Sidley Austin before entering federal service.[5] She served as a longtime policy counsel to Senator Chuck Schumer of New York before accepting the appointment to a Democratic seat on the Federal Trade Commission in 2018, during the presidency of Donald Trump.[6] In this capacity, she filled the seat left vacant by Edith Ramirez.

Connecting the Dots:

Rebecca Slaughter is the commissioner for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), an associate at Sidley Austin LLP and graduated from Yale University.

Edith Ramirez is the chairman for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and was a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, LLP.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.

Newton N. Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Cameron F. Kerry is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, John F. Kerry’s brother and a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP and Crystal Nix Hines’s law school friend.

Crystal Nix Hines was Barack Obama’s law school friend and is of counsel at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, LLP.

Faith Elizabeth Gay is a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, LLP, a partner at Sidley Austin LLP and was a director at the American Constitution Society.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the American Constitution Society.

George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Committee for Economic Development.

William H. Donaldson is a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, a member of the Sterling Fellows and was a member of the Skull and Bones.

Sterling Fellows are donors of $1 million or more to Yale University.

Skull and Bones is a secret society at Yale University.

John F. Kerry was a member of the Skull and Bones, the secretary at the U.S. Department of State for the Barack Obama administration and Cameron Kerry’s brother.

David B. Singer is a member of the Sterling Fellows and was a fellow at the Aspen Institute (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Aspen Institute (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank) and was a professor at Yale University.

Rebecca Slaughter graduated from Yale University, is the commissioner for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and an associate at Sidley Austin LLP.

Paul V. Gerlach is a partner at Sidley Austin LLP and was an associate director, enforcement for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Harold M. Williams was a chairman for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Committee for Economic Development.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

William H. Donaldson is a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, a member of the Sterling Fellows and was a member of the Skull and Bones.

Sterling Fellows are donors of $1 million or more to Yale University.

Skull and Bones is a secret society at Yale University.

Letitia James is the chair for the Committee on Economic Development and the Attorney General of New York.

Shirley Ann Jackson is a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development and a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Committee for Economic Development and the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros is the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

David M. Rubenstein is the co-chairman for the Brookings Institution (think tank), a regent at the Smithsonian Institution, the president of the Economic Club of Washington, a co-founder & co-CEO for the Carlyle Group, a friend of Thomas E. Donilon and Joe Biden spent Thanksgiving with him.

Edward J. Mathias is a managing director at the Carlyle Group and a director at the Economic Club of Washington.

Jerome H. Powell (Jay) was a partner at the Carlyle Group and is the Chairman for the Federal Reserve System.

Edward J. Mathias is a managing director at the Carlyle Group and a director at the Economic Club of Washington.

Vernon E. Jordan Jr. was the president of the Economic Club of Washington, is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Valerie B. Jarrett is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, Vernon E. Jordan Jr. great niece a friend of Michelle Obama, Laura Jarrett’s brother and was the senior adviser for the Barack Obama administration.

Newton N. Minow is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago and a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

Michelle Obama is a friend of Valerie B. Jarrett, married to Barack Obama, and was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP and Crystal Nix Hines’s law school friend.

Crystal Nix Hines was Barack Obama’s law school friend and is of counsel at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, LLP.

Edith Ramirez was a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, LLP and is the chairman for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Rebecca Slaughter is the commissioner for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), an associate at Sidley Austin LLP and graduated from Yale University.

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP and Crystal Nix Hines’s law school friend.

Crystal Nix Hines was Barack Obama’s law school friend and is of counsel at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, LLP.

Edith Ramirez was a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, LLP and is the chairman for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Laura Jarrett is Valerie B. Jarrett’s daughter and joined CNN in September 2016 as a reporter based in the Washington, D.C. bureau.

Walter Isaacson was the chairman & CEO for CNN and is the president & CEO for the Aspen Institute (think tank).

David B. Singer was a fellow at the Aspen Institute (think tank) and is a member of the Sterling Fellows.

Sterling Fellows are donors of $1 million or more to Yale University.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Aspen Institute (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank) and was a professor at Yale University.

Rebecca Slaughter graduated from Yale University, is the commissioner for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and an associate at Sidley Austin LLP.

Sterling Fellows are donors of $1 million or more to Yale University.

Skull and Bones is a secret society at Yale University.

William H. Donaldson is a member of the Sterling Fellows, a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development and was a member of the Skull and Bones.