The Federal Trade Commission now has three commissioners, and all of them are Republicans.
The FTC historically had a 3–2 partisan split, with the president’s party having a one-seat advantage. But President Trump fired FTC Democrats Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter last month, and the Senate yesterday confirmed Trump nominee Mark Meador to the agency’s third Republican spot.
The Senate vote was 50–46 and went along party lines. “I respect Mr. Meador’s qualifications and his prior experiences… But I cannot support the confirmation of any additional members to the FTC until Commissioner Slaughter and Commissioner Bedoya are reinstated,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said yesterday. “President Trump’s dismissal of Commissioners Slaughter and Bedoya is not only illegal; it hurts consumers and small businesses by undermining the independence of the Agency that Congress established to protect consumers from fraud, scams, and monopoly power. An independent FTC is critical for protecting consumers and has done so in a bipartisan manner for over 110 years.”
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When are we gonna be able to use the cheap Baofeng handhelds after the FCC gets dissolved or the people in charge have no concept of wireless transmissions or interference? /s