BETHESDA, Md. (BRAIN) — A nonprofit consumer advocacy organization filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of the three Consumer Product Safety Commissioners whom President Trump fired earlier this month after objecting to staff firings.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on Wednesday by Public Citizen, Mary T. Boyle, Alexander Hoehn-Saric, and Richard Trumka Jr. maintain that under the Consumer Product Safety Act, commissioners can be removed by the President before the end of their terms only “for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office but for no other cause” as stated by Congress.
Also named as defendants were Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought, and CPSC Acting Chairman Peter A. Feldman.
The commissioners ask the court to:
- Declare their removal from the CPSC unlawful and reinstate them to serve out their terms.
- Prevent Feldman from obstructing them from their duties as CPSC commissioners, including firing their staff and barring access to agency resources.
- Prevent Bessent, Vought, and Feldman from depriving them of pay and benefits they’re entitled to and restore all pay and benefits that have been withheld from them and their staff.
- Award the costs and attorney fees, and grant any other relief.
Under the safety act, the CPSC has five commissioners nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate to serve staggered, seven-year terms and act independently in the name of public safety. Each of the fired commissioners were nominated by former President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate.
According to a Trumka statement issued May 9, the issue came to a head two days before when the Trump administration wanted some commissioners’ staff employees fired, and during the annual planning meeting, Trumka said he will be “a roadblock” in that effort. The next day at 2 p.m., according to Trumka, Department of Government Efficiency representatives visited the CPSC.
After Feldman, a Republican, emailed the other four seeking approval to bring two DOGE members into commission offices, the three Democratic members declined and voted to block the approval. Fellow Republican Commissioner Douglas Dziak voted with Feldman. On May 8, the terminations were announced through emails.
The stage was set for the firings April 30 when the commission voted 3-2 to approve an e-bike and lithium-ion battery testing standards proposal and advance it to the public comment period required under the Notice of Public Rulemaking guidelines. Before the vote, a motion by Feldman and Dziak was presented to submit the testing proposal to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs — part of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) — that President Trump says is now required because of his recently issued executive order. The Democratic members voted against it, citing the CPSC’s authority to act independently. With the proposal approved, it was supposed to be published in the Federal Register on May 16 for public comments.
However, on May 13, the two remaining commissioners voted to withdraw the notice.
“The proposed rule should have been published in the Federal Register last Friday and be available now for public comment,” Hoehn-Saric wrote in an email to BRAIN on Tuesday. “This is an essential part of the rulemaking process, when stakeholders can review and provide comment on the agency's proposal. If this step had moved forward, we could have had a final rule in place this year. But without this step, nothing will happen. Without a mandatory standard, preventable fires will likely occur, consumers could be harmed, and trust in the safety of e-bikes and other micromobility devices will decrease.”
Hoehn-Saric said he’s unsure what happens next to the proposal. “The remaining commissioners provided no public reasoning for their decision or indication as to next steps.”
He said he’s “deeply concerned” that the CPSC is acting under orders from the White House.
“It is no coincidence that the decision to withdraw the proposed rule took place five days after DOGE entered the building and four days after I and two of my colleagues were illegally removed as commissioners.
“There has been bipartisan agreement for several years that we need a mandatory safety standard for these batteries and battery systems to prevent deadly fires. Without such a rule, the agency is hamstrung and can only stop particular batteries once a specific defect is found. With a mandatory rule, dangerous batteries that did not meet the standard could be stopped at import and before they get to consumers hands. The proposed rule should have been published in the Federal Register last Friday and be available now for public comment. This is an essential part of the rulemaking process, when stakeholders can review and provide comment on the agency's proposal. If this step had moved forward, we could have had a final rule in place this year. But without this step, nothing will happen. Without a mandatory standard, preventable fires will likely occur, consumers could be harmed, and trust in the safety of e-bikes and other micromobility devices will decrease.”
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Alexander Hoehn-Saric. -
Richard Trumka Jr.
