Today’s blog muses a bit on the impact of the Supreme Court ruling in Trump vs Slaughter. The case arose when President Trump fired Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya, the two Democratic Commissioners at the Federal Trade Commission, soon after he took office. The Congressional legislation that established the FTC said that Commissioners serve seven-year terms, and that a president can only fire a Commissioner “for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office”. Slaughter sued, and won in District Court, and that ruling was upheld by a split decision at the Court of Appeals. However, when the split decision was appealed to the Supreme Court, the Court ruled that a president has the authority to fire regulators in independent agencies.

As soon as this was announced, there was press speculation that the President might also fire Commissioner Anna Gomez, the sole Democratic Commissioner at the FCC. It’s unlikely that the administration would currently fire Gomez. Firing Gomez would mean that the FCC wouldn’t have a quorum, which requires three Commissioners be present before the FCC can vote on any actions. The FCC currently only has three Commissioners – Chairman Carr, Republican Commissioner Olivia Trusty, and Commissioner Gomez. We know what it looks like to not have a quorum since this happened a number of times in the past. The most recent time was last year when Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Nathan Simington both resigned from the FCC in June 2025. That left only Chairman Carr and Commissioner Gomez, and the FCC was unable to conduct business until Commissioner Trusty was approved by the Senate.

The FCC doesn’t shut down without a quorum. The agency continues with all of its normal functions, like reviewing and approving new communications devices or granting simple wireless licenses for things like microwave connections. But nothing can be done that requires a vote of the Commissioners, including starting new proceedings. The Congressional mandate that established the FCC also requires the composition of a full Commission must be bipartisan, with no more than two of the four Commissioners from a given party (not counting the party of the Chairman).

But the speculation about firing Commissioner Gomez ramped up last week when President Trump nominated a third Republican Commissioner. He chose Republican Danielle Thumann Severs, who is currently a senior counsel to Commission Carr, to fill one of the two open seats on the commission. The nomination was immediately sent to the Senate to start the confirmation process. If confirmed, she would serve the remaining three years on a seat with a 5-year term that began on July 1, 2024.

Thumann Severs currently advises Carr on matters before the Wireline Bureau, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, and the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau. She had been an advisor to Carr’s office from March 2021 to July 2023 and worked at Crown Castle before rejoining the FCC in August 2024.

It will raise questions about the future of the FCC and other independent agencies if Commissioner Gomez is fired after Thumann Severs is seated. Will future Presidents immediately terminate Commissioners of the opposing party in all independent agencies upon taking office? I’ve been watching the FCC for decades. My observation has been that a new Commissioner to the FCC is rarely fully effective until they’ve been in the position for a year or two and get to know staff and get deep into the issues at the agency. Having a constantly revolving door in the future would not be efficient for getting anything done.

It’s also worth noting that FCC Commissioners have regularly reached bipartisan agreement on many issues. There is no policy reason to fire Commissioner Gomez, other than to eliminate her opposing opinions that are posted after votes. I suspect that if every new president routinely fires Commissioners of the opposing party, then every decision at future FCCs will become highly partisan. As much as the big ISPs love it when they get a Commission that sides with them on issues, they also put a high value on regulatory consistency, and the big players regulated by the FCC don’t want to see rules that yoyo with every change of administration.