All the President’s Regulators: Trump and the Future of the Federal Trade Commission

More than a century ago, Congress established the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to combat corporate consolidation and rising monopoly power. Designed as an independent agency, the FTC was tasked with enforcing civil antitrust laws. This independence was intentional—Commissioners could only be fired by the President for cause, and the Commission itself could not become dominated by one political party. 

That independence, however, may be slipping away. In March, President Trump dismissed two of the FTC’s five Commissioners without cause. The Supreme Court has since upheld such summary firings, paving the way for broader and more direct presidential control over federal agencies, including those Congress specifically structured to operate independently. What does this mean for the future of antitrust enforcement in the United States?

Join us on October 20 for a conversation with Tom Dahdouh, former Attorney-Advisor to FTC Chair Lina Khan, on the evolving role of the FTC, the erosion of agency independence, and the future of federal antitrust enforcement and consumer protection in an era of expanded executive power.

Co-sponsored by Stanford Law & Political Economy (LPE) and the American Constitution Society.