Last night, I received an email stating that the President wanted to fire me as Commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.  Of course, he did not give any reason why.  However, it immediately follows me doing two things that this Administration is against: (1) advancing solutions to protect the American people from harm, and (2) stopping the illegal firing of scores of public servants who do lifesaving work. 

Last Wednesday, I voted to advance a solution to the deadly lithium-ion battery problem that’s been terrifying the nation.[1]  Because CPSC is an independent agency, we’ve been able to continue pushing forward life-saving standards.  The Administration has tried to stamp out independence, which would stop solutions like this one from moving forward. 

This Wednesday, at a public meeting to discuss the Commission’s annual plan, I made it clear that I was a roadblock to the Administration’s plan to fire civil servants at the CPSC who work to keep you safe every day.[2]  This follows months of my efforts to maintain our workforce so that we can keep dangerous products out of American homes.  The public servants of CPSC have dedicated their lives to saving all of ours.  Standing up for the working men and women of this agency earned us a visit from DOGE on Thursday at 2:00 pm. By 3:45 pm, CPSC’s Acting Chair, Peter Feldman sent an email to Commissioners seeking approval to bring aboard two DOGE detailees to the agency: Justin Fox and Nate Cavanaugh. He set a 6:00 pm deadline to respond. I said no, because if these people are allowed in to govern our agency, they will gut it and the result will turn back the clock on product safety.  Two of my colleagues said no as well, forming a majority to block the move.  Rather than respect the democratic process, soon after, I received the email purporting to fire me.  

Unfortunately for the President, he did not have the authority to fire me. 15 U.S.C. § 2053(a) (Commissioners may be removed “for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office but for no other cause”).  I have a set term on this independent, bipartisan Commission that does not expire until October of 2028, and I will continue protecting the American people from harm through that time.  The President would like to end this nation’s long history of independent agencies, so he’s chosen to ignore the law and pretend independence doesn’t exist.  I’ll see him in court.

CPSC’s lifesaving work is far too important to take this lying down.  We stop products that could kill babies in their sleep, that could give kids lead poisoning, that could strangle older Americans.  Last year, we oversaw a staggering 333 recalls covering over 150 million units of dangerous products.  And we seized thousands of dangerous foreign products at America’s ports.  It’s my job is to tell bad actors what they don’t like to hear: they can’t sell products that hurt your kids.  And if they ignore that, to warn you that their products could hurt your family.  Profit-hungry companies stand to gain a lot from getting rid of me.  Make no mistake: their gain would come at your expense. 

So, my work as an independent Commissioner must continue.  There are safety solutions that we need to get across the finish line.  We’re working on solutions that would save 100 lives per year from carbon monoxide poisoning.[3]  Another solution would save over 100 lives per year from toxic dusters.[4]  Other solutions would stop gruesome deaths of young children from corded window coverings,[5] button batteries in toys,[6] water beads,[7] and neck floats.[8]  Another solution would save babies from sleep deaths in rockers (products like the Fisher Price Rock ‘n Play tied to over 100 infant deaths).[9] Another would eliminate tens of thousands of amputations from table saws and provide $2.32 billion in annual net benefits to America.[10]  I try to keep people safe from the problems they don’t see coming.     

If my illegal firing is allowed to stand, it will clear the way for the Administration and its lapdogs to cripple the lifesaving functions of this agency to benefit their wealthy donors.  

Faithfully,                

Commissioner Richard L. Trumka Jr.

*The views expressed in this statement are solely the views of Commissioner Trumka and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commission.
 

[1] CPSC Advances Proposed Solution to Deadly Lithium-Ion Battery Problem From E-Bikes and Similar Products, Apr. 30, 2025, available at https://www.cpsc.gov/About-CPSC/Commissioner/Richard-Trumka/Statement/C….

[2] CPSC Fiscal Year FY25 Midyear Review, May 7, 2025, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8GZjwTHu8Q.

[3] Safety Standard for Portable Generators SNPR, 88 Fed. Reg. 24,346, 24,347 (Apr. 20, 2023); Safety Standard for Residential Gas Furnaces and Boilers NPR, 88 Fed. Reg. 73,272, 73,285 (Oct. 25, 2023).

[4] Banned Hazardous Substances: Aerosol Duster Products Containing More Than 18 mg in Any Combination of HFC-152a and/or HFC-134a NPR, 89 Fed. Reg. 61,363, 61,368 (July 31, 2024) (“CPSC’s CPSRMS database contains reports for 1,039 unique fatal incidents involving inhalation hazards from aerosol duster products that occurred between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2021.”). 

[5] Safety Standard for Operating Cords on Custom Window Coverings NPR, 87 Fed. Reg. 1,014 (Jan. 7, 2022).

[6] Safety Standard for Toys: Requirements for Toys Containing Button or Coin Cell Batteries NPR, 89 Fed. Reg. 65,791 (Aug. 13, 2024).

[7] Safety Standard for Toys: Requirements for Water Beads NPR, 89 Fed. Reg. 73,024 (Sept. 9, 2024).

[8] Mandatory Toy Safety Standards: Requirements for Neck Floats NPR, 89 Fed. Reg. 91,586 (Nov. 20, 2024).

[9] Safety Standard for Infant and Infant/Toddler Rockers NPR, 88 Fed. Reg. 73,551 (Oct. 26, 2023); CPSC, Fisher-Price Reannounces Recall of 4.7 Million Rock ‘n Play Sleepers; At Least Eight Deaths Occurred After Recall, Jan. 9, 2023, available at https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2023/Fisher-Price-Reannounces-Recall-of-4-….

[10] Safety Standard Addressing Blade-Contact Injuries on Table Saws SNPR, 88 Fed. Reg. 74,909, 74,910 (Nov. 1, 2023).