Democratic members of independent institutions work to protect Americans from dangerous products and launched recalls and security warnings overnight via an email.

This is the latest situation for senior officials of Trump seeking to replace independent federal agencies, which raises legal challenges.

The firings come as consumer protection groups and lawmakers warn that Trump may be trying to remove the entire Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Congressional Democrat and Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, issued a letter Friday denouncing Russell Voss, director of the Office of Management and Budget, aimed to eliminate the agency’s plans and to absorb its functions and staff into what lawmakers describe as “a current employee division within the Department of Health and Human Services.”

It is not clear whether the Trump administration will adopt such a plan. The White House did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment, but when asked about the CPSC changes at Friday's press conference, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president "has the right to fire people within the executive branch."

"I'll see him in court," Richard Trumka Jr., one of the three Democratic Commissioners who Trump fired, said in a statement on social media.

Trumka and Commissioner Mary Boyle received an email Thursday night informing them that Trump was firing them - without reason. Boyle confirms she fires this Washington Post.

The third Democratic Commissioner Alexander Hoehn-Saric said in a statement that he had not received communication from the White House, but that CPSC Acting Chairman Peter Feldman "stops me from carrying out my duties as a commissioner based on the president's resignation, which also seeks my removal."

Feldman told CPSC employees in an email that he was told that Hoehn-Saric, Trumka and Boyle were removed from office.

“Both the Constitution and the Consumer Product Safety Act grant the president the authority to dismiss CPSC members. President Trump exercised this power and he did so legally,” Feldman wrote. “The CPSC remains committed to our important security mission: protecting American consumers from unreasonable risks of harm associated with consumer products. The Commission will continue to perform its duties with diligence and integrity.”

Trumka said his firing and the termination of Hoehn-Saric in the panel discussion was a refusal to follow Doge, Trump and billionaire Elon Musk's government requirements to cut government efficiency departments. It is against the law that two commissioners maintain their relocation.

"The illegal attempt to remove me from the CPSC happened immediately after my colleagues and I took steps to advance our safety efforts and protect our employees from arbitrary shootings," Hoehn-Saric wrote in the statement.

Termination by email

The NPR review email to Trumka simply says: "On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I write to you that your position on the Consumer Product Safety Committee is immediately valid. Thank you for your service."

CPSC is an institution founded in 1972 to protect Americans from dangerous items that pose a safety hazard or even risk death, such as adult portable bed rails and unsafe children’s toys. It also captures dangerous products from U.S. ports. The agency consists of five commissioners, one who serves as chairman, and the committee serves for many years. All Democrats fired by Trump still have a few months to several years of term left.

The group's website still lists the terms of acting chairman Feldman and Republican Commissioner Douglas Dziak ended in October 2024. The Democrats are now classified as "the commissioner of the past."

Like Dziak, Trumka, Boyle and Hoehn-Saric, they are nominated by former President Joe Biden. Boyle was a long-time CPSC staffer and was then nominated as a commissioner.

Trumka’s father was strong labor leader and Democratic ally Ally Richard Trumka, who has a legal background as assistant attorney general for the Maryland Consumer Protection Division and serves as general counsel and chief of staff for the Economic and Consumer Policy Subcommittee.

Hoehn-Saric also has a legal background and serves as chief consultant on the House Energy and Commerce Committee for consumer protection oversight.

Trump said the CPSC has been forced to fire many employees since Trump took office - he refused to do so. He said the Governor knocked on the door Thursday afternoon for this purpose.

"By 3:45 pm, CPSC's acting chairman Peter Feldman sent an email to the commissioner seeking approval, bringing two Doge details to the agency: Justin Fox and Nate Cavanaugh. He set a 6:00 pm deadline in response," Trumka wrote.

They were rejected. "If these people are allowed to manage our agency, they will work and will turn down time for product safety, either, either, my two colleagues are unwilling to stop most people from stopping this move. Instead of respecting the democratic process, I received an email to fire me soon after."

The CPSC is the latest independent federal agency, facing pressure from the Trump administration and its peers to cut employees and acquiesce to control the White House.

In February, Trump signed an executive order designed to provide more power to other independent agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, which oversees the market and secures federal deposit insurance companies that secure bank deposits. He wants all these agencies to regulate through his government.

In addition to the thousands of federal workers being removed from the Governor, Trump has fired senior officials to independent agencies and any other offices he believes are against the administration’s agenda. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor and Industrial Relations Commission and, more recently, the Library of Congress was attacked by senior sacks.

Many of the shootings are being challenged in court.

Trumka and Hoehn-Saric say their shooting is illegal. Trumka promised his own legal action.

"I will continue to protect the American people from harm at that time. The president wants to end the country's long history of independent institutions, so he was chosen to ignore the law and pretend that independence does not exist. I will see him in court." "The lifesaving work of the CPSC is so important to lie down."