By Jody Godoy
(Reuters) - U.S. Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson gained broad authority to purge diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies at the agency after Democrats, who still have the majority on the commission, stood down.
Ferguson, who has criticized social media companies for left-leaning content moderation policies, asked the commission on Thursday to grant him authority to strip all mention of DEI from FTC documents after President Donald Trump's executive order banning such programs in the federal government.
The first vote under Ferguson's leadership on Thursday ratcheted up tension between Republicans and Democrats at the five-member agency, and surfaced a larger disagreement over the agency's independent status.
Democratic Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya cast the lone vote against the proposal, criticizing Ferguson for rushing the vote and for focusing on DEI instead of the high cost of living.
Conservatives including Ferguson have said the president should be able to remove officials who do not align with his agenda.
Under 90-year-old U.S. Supreme Court precedent, FTC commissioners and members of many other bipartisan independent agencies are only fireable for cause -- unlike executive branch agencies whose heads the president can fire at will.
Ferguson said Bedoya acted out of disagreement with Trump over DEI.
"I do not think an officer of the United States can refuse to comply with the President's lawful orders on the basis of such an objection," Ferguson said in a statement on the vote Thursday night.
Democrat Lina Khan, whom Trump replaced as the agency's chair but who remains a commissioner, and fellow Democratic Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter declined to participate in the vote. Slaughter said in a statement that she believed Ferguson already had the authority to carry out Trump's mandate.
"As Senate-confirmed Commissioners of an independent agency, my colleagues and I swear an oath to uphold the laws and the Constitution of the United States of America, not to serve any individual or ideology," Slaughter said.