Democratic Commissioners Fired – Legal Fight Likely

Update: PSL has received a comment from CPSC also quoting from Acting Chairman Peter Feldman's message mentioned below in the second paragraph.

The three Democratic commissioners were removed from their posts May 8, setting up a likely legal battle. As of midday May 9, CPSC had not responded to a request for comment about this development although PSL gave barely any time, moving very fast in getting this story out (see update above). 

However, PSL has seen a screenshot of a message from Acting Chairman Peter Feldman to CPSC staff announcing the firings and asserting, "Both the Constitution and the Consumer Product Safety Act grant the President authority to remove members of CPSC." Feldman also described the dismissals as being done "lawfully."

The fired commissioners are Mary Boyle, Alexander Hoehn-Saric, and Richard Trumka. They have issued statements.

Trumka's statement (bit.ly/4jKwkn9) suggests that the firing may have been over the refusal by the three Democrats to approve the onboarding of DOGE operatives Nate Cavenaugh and Justin Fox. He also posted a video (bit.ly/4d6qFFo) in which he promised to sue, saying, "The president does not have the authority to remove me, so I won't take this lying down. See you in court, Mr. President."

Hoehn-Saric's referred to the firings as "unlawful" and "illegal." He asserted (bit.ly/4iOsuIl) that he was not informed by the White House but that "the Acting Chair [Peter Feldman] is preventing me from executing my duties as Commissioner based on an assertion that the President is also seeking my removal."

Boyle used "illegally," and she repeated the explanation about the DOGE operatives: "I was fired illegally last night from my Senate-confirmed position as a CPSC Commissioner after I refused to be complicit with the efforts of DOGE to destroy the agency dedicated to protecting our nation’s consumers."

The firings themselves were not unexpected although the timing has been unknown. In February (PSL, 2/17/25), the intent to eventually do so was signaled in a Solicitor General letter that declared the Department of Justice would no longer defend firing protections in various agencies' statutes. It mentioned CPSC by name along with the Federal Trade Commission and National Labor Relations Board.

The Consumer Product Safety Act says commissioners can be removed only for "neglect of duty or malfeasance in office but for no other cause." The counter argument is that the law's restriction is an unconstitutional violation of a president's Article II powers over the executive branch.