Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul co-led a coalition of 21 attorneys general in filing a brief in support of two Federal Trade Commission (FTC) commissioners who are challenging the illegal attempt by President Trump to fire them without cause.
For more than 100 years, the FTC has played an important role in protecting Americans against scams and fraud, recovering billions of dollars for consumers harmed by unfair and deceptive practices. The agency has also been at the center of important antitrust cases that protect consumers from anticompetitive practices, many of which involved close partnerships with the states, such as the recent lawsuit – filed by Illinois, among other states – to stop the merger between Kroger and Albertsons.
“My office frequently partners with the FTC to take actions that protect consumers,” Raoul said. “The bipartisan makeup of the FTC ensures that the commission serves all consumers, in Illinois and across the nation. I join my fellow attorneys general in support of the FTC’s current structure and its record of ensuring a safe and fair marketplace for law-aiding businesses and customers.”
That strong track record, Raoul and the attorneys general argue in their brief, is due in large part to the bipartisan structure of the agency’s leadership, which fosters well-reasoned decision making and provides expertise that many state attorneys general rely on to do their work.
In their brief, Raoul and the coalition argue that permitting President Trump to remove the commissioners would destroy the FTC’s structure and harm its mission. Granting the president at-will removal authority would ruin the FTC’s independence by allowing the commission to become a partisan agency subject to the political whims of the president. Conversely, the president could fire all of the commissioners and not appoint new ones, leaving the FTC unable to perform its function.
Illinois has partnered with the FTC on multiple issues, such as joining a lawsuit earlier this month to block the acquisition of Surmodics Inc. by GTCR BC Holdings LLC (GTCR) alleging that the deal, which seeks to combine the two largest manufacturers of critical medical device coatings, is anticompetitive. In January 2025, Attorney General Raoul partnered with the FTC in filing a lawsuit against Deere and Company, arguing the agricultural equipment manufacturer’s use of unfair practices has driven up equipment repair costs for farmers while also depriving farmers of the ability to make timely repairs on critical farming equipment, including tractors. Additionally, in December 2024, Raoul and the FTC announced a $25 million settlement agreement with Grubhub Inc. over its alleged deceptive business practices that harmed customers, delivery drivers and restaurants. Also in December 2024, Raoul and the FTC announced a $20 million proposed settlement agreement with Leader Automotive Group (Leader) and its parent company, AutoCanada, to resolve allegations Leader defrauded consumers trying to buy vehicles.
Joining Raoul in filing the brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
