A day after his abrupt firing by Donald Trump from the Federal Trade Commission, Alvaro Bedoya raised questions about the US president’s relations with some of the country’s richest men.
Appearing at a hearing of the joint judiciary committee of the state legislature in Colorado on Wednesday, the ousted Democratic commissioner said it was an “interesting coincidence” his final public statement in post had blasted Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder.
“I think it’s interesting that the last public statement I made [before the firing] was critical of one of the men standing behind the president’s shoulder at his inauguration,” he said.
“I issued a statement criticizing Mr Bezos for working his people in warehouses so fast, so hard that they literally have to put up vending machines on the warehouse floor, dispensing and capping the amount of painkillers each of those workers has to get.”
He also reiterated the two lawsuits that the FTC currently has against Amazon: one for allegedly tricking consumers into subscriptions they do not want, and another for allegedly cheating small businesses.
“I’m not alleging that this was why I was fired, but I think it’s an interesting coincidence,” Bedoya said.
The hearing, scheduled before Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter were dismissed earlier this week, focused on the roles states play in protecting consumer affordability, and the dismantling of federal consumer protection institutions in Colorado and across the country.
“A lot of folks have heard the news and have, naturally, wanted to talk about what happened to me or what happened to my colleague, Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter,” said Bedoya. “I think what we really need to focus on is the billionaires over President Trump’s shoulder at his inauguration.”
He went on to speak about the role he believes partisanship played in his firing, linking it to billionaire interests. The firing was described by both Bedoya and present Colorado representatives as “illegal”.
Elon Musk, Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, the tech billionaires behind X, Amazon and Meta, respectively, were all present at Trump’s inauguration in January. Musk is playing a key role in his administration, while both Bezos and Musk have held talks with the president.
“Each of those men and each of their companies is currently the subject of an FTC court order, or is currently the subject of FTC litigation,” Bedoya said.
The fired commissioner expressed his concern that the Trump administration would not block future mergers that threaten consumer protections.
“I’m worried that the only thing that’s going to matter is which billionaire has the president’s ear on this deal, and what strings can he pull about it,” Bedoya said. “I am profoundly worried that the only thing that’s going to matter with respect to these mergers is not the law, but money.”
He emphasized the importance of state legislation, and ended his remarks with a call for all workers and consumers, regardless of political affiliation, to pay attention to the growing power and influence of billionaires in the US government.
“I want to stress an uncomfortable fact, which is the issue of the corrupting influence of money in politics. I don’t think it is limited to one party,” he said. “This issue of the corrupting influence of billionaires in law enforcement is an issue that affects all of us, regardless of party, regardless of where we live.”
