WASHINGTON, D.C. – Dennis M. Kelleher, Cofounder, President, and CEO, issued the following statement in connection with President Trump’s reported firing of the Democratic Commissioners of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC):
“Trump’s lawless firing of the Democratic Commissioners at the FTC will convert it from an independent agency into a politicized rubber stamp of the White House, destroying not just its independence and effectiveness but also its integrity and credibility. While this may serve Trump’s short-term desire to accumulate as much power as possible, it is going to distort and undermine economic activity as well as capital formation and allocation. The FTC’s legal mandates to enforce the antitrust laws and promote consumer protection are critical to a well-functioning economy, the rule of law, and equal justice under the law.
“This is an unjustified break with tradition, history, practice, and precedent that would dangerously deprive the FTC’s deliberative process of invaluable and irreplaceable multi-perspective inputs, views, experience, and expertise. That model has served the FTC and other independent agencies, our financial system, the economy, and our country well for decades, including during the eight years of the Obama Administration and the four years of the Biden Administration when Republican members of the FTC and other agencies fulfilled their roles as minority commissioners.
“If Trump’s illegal actions are not stopped, he will likely do the same at the SEC and CFTC, which will gravely undermine the banking and financial systems. The entire economy depends on the trust and confidence of investors and consumers, but that depends on their faith and belief that the financial markets are well-regulated and policed in an unbiased manner. That is all at risk if Trump is allowed to politicize the FTC and the other independent financial protection agencies by converting them into one party echo chambers serving whoever happens to be president. That will result in dramatic swings of the policy pendulum every four or so years, which will serve no one while risking the deepest, broadest, most efficient financial markets in the world, upon which our economy and standard of living depends. Those are the stakes in Trump’s latest actions. It’s past time for Congress and the courts to fulfill their Constitutional duties and stop this latest baseless power-grab before the damage is beyond repair.”
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Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies—including many in finance—to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.org.
