On May 8, 2025, President Donald Trump removed all three Democratic commissioners from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), dramatically reshaping the agency’s leadership. Those dismissed commissions are Richard L. Trumka Jr., Mary Boyle and former CPSC Chairman Alexander Hoehn-Saric. The firings leave the five-member commission with just two Republicans commissioners: current Acting Chairman Peter Feldman and Commissioner Douglas Dziak.

In a February 12, 2025 letter to Senator Dick Durbin, the Acting Solicitor General stated that the Department of Justice would no longer defend statutory provisions that limit presidential authority to remove officials from so-called “independent agencies,” which include the CPSC. Independent agencies are those Congress created by statute but which are considered to be housed under the Executive Branch. Congress’ intent in creating independent agencies was to insulate them from political influence by only permitting a president to remove them for cause. The CPSC firings mark the latest in a series of high-profile moves by the Trump administration to remove Democratic officials from independent agencies in a direct challenge to historical and legal precedent, an issue which is currently being litigated in those other moves. Trumka, Boyle and Hoehn-Saric have stated their plan to oppose their dismissals in court, as well.

Impact to CPSC operations

For the next six months, under 15 U.S.C. § 2053, the CPSC can continue to operate with a quorum comprising two commissioners. However, if a court determines that the others were unlawfully removed and are still considered valid and current commissioners, their positions would not be considered “vacant.” In that case, the general quorum requirement—three sitting commissioners—would apply, potentially halting commission operations requiring a vote. For now, the two remaining members can vote together to take official action.

Both Acting Chair Feldman and Commissioner Dziak are long-standing members of the consumer product safety community, and we have seen no material decrease in CPSC activity over the past several months. It is also our understanding that significant CPSC activities, such as the eFiling program, continue to move ahead despite these changes. Overall, we see no reason right now to expect recall activity, product investigations or other typical CPSC activities to decrease as a result of the firings.  This development represents a significant moment for the future of the CPSC. We will continue to monitor legal proceedings and agency developments as they unfold and provide updates as they become available.