Trump Fires Democratic CPSC Members
President Donald Trump fired the three Democratic members of the five-member Consumer Product Safety Commission on May 9. Now-former member Richard Trumka said that he was fired "illegally." He was nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate for a seven-year term beginning on Oct. 27, 2021.
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The CPSC website lists the three Democratic former members, Alex Hoehn-Saric, Mary Boyle and Trumka, as "past commissioners." Hoehn-Saric and Boyle also were nominated by Biden. Hoehn-Saric was confirmed by the Senate Oct. 7, 2021, for a term that expires on Oct. 27, 2027. Boyle was confirmed June 22, 2022, for a term that expires on Oct. 27 this year.
When asked during a press briefing about the firings, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded: "It's a federal agency within which branch? It's the Executive Branch. Who's the head of the Executive Branch? The president of the United States. He has the right to fire people within the Executive Branch. It's a pretty simple answer."
In a LinkedIn post, Trumka said that he was not given a reason for his firing, but that it came after he advanced solutions "to protect the American people from harm," and stopped the "illegal firing of scores of public servants who do lifesaving work."
Boyle issued a statement saying that Peter Feldman, the acting chairman, "demonstrates contempt for the very workforce he purports to lead, highlighting his unfitness for the position."
Neal Cohen, a lawyer formerly with the CPSC, described the firings as "an earthquake in the world of product safety." He predicted that these actions "will almost certainly be reversed," and may lead to a "pendulum swing" under a Democratic president.
Trumka does not plan to give up his position without a fight, saying, "See you in court, Mr. President."