The Trump administration is breaking up the Consumer Product Safety Commission, a small but powerful independent watchdog that for five decades has quietly kept dangerous toys, cribs and electronics out of American homes.
The administration on Thursday night fired three Biden-appointed commissioners on the five-member CPSC board — Alexander Hoehn-Saric, Mary T. Boyle and Richard Trumka Jr. — just hours after two staffers with the “Department of Government Efficiency” were scheduled to meet with acting Chair Peter Feldman at the agency’s Bethesda headquarters, according to two people familiar with the meeting granted anonymity to avoid retribution. Hoehn-Saric said that while he has received no direct communication from the White House, Feldman has barred him from performing his duties.
The three fired commissioners voted to block an attempt by Feldman to officially bring on the pair from DOGE, Trumka Jr. said in a statement.
“Rather than respect the democratic process, soon after, I received the email purporting to fire me,” Trumka, son of the late labor leader Richard Trumka, said, vowing to sue over his removal.
