Another
sign
that
the
Trump
II
administration
is
taking
a
sharper
turn
to
the
right
than
his
previous
time
in
office
happened
on
Friday
when
the
Federal
Trade
Commission
Chair
Andrew
Ferguson
announced
the
agency
was
over
the
American
Bar
Association.
Specifically,
the
new
policy
“prohibits
FTC
political
appointees
from
holding
leadership
roles
in
the
American
Bar
Association
(ABA),
participating
in
ABA
events,
or
renewing
their
ABA
memberships.
Additionally,
the
FTC
will
no
longer
use
its
resources
to
support
any
employee’s
ABA
membership
or
participation
in
ABA
activities.”
As
a
reminder,
the
ABA
is
a
nonpartisan
organization,
and
the
country’s
largest
voluntary
bar
association.
The
letter
—
available
in
full
below
—
has
big
got-a-C-in-contracts-gunner
energy.
Ferguson
accuses
the
ABA
of
a
“long
history
of
leftist
advocacy”
and
“recent
attacks
on
the
Trump-Vance
Administration’s
governing
agenda.”
He
continues:
The
President
of
the
ABA
recently
issued
a
statement
accusing
the
Trump-Vance
Administration
of
“wide-scale
affronts
to
the
rule
of
law.”
What
followed
was
a
breathless
screed
leveled
against
President
Donald
J.
Trump’s
swift
and
tireless
delivery
on
his
promises
to
the
American
people
to
confront
our
existential
immigration
crisis
and
end
waste,
fraud,
and
abuse
in
the
federal
government.
This
statement
was
not
a
sober
assessment
of
the
law.
It
was
a
collection
of
Democrat
political
talking
points
with
the
ABA’s
logo
affixed
at
the
top.
Ah
yes,
the
“collection
of
Democrat
political
talking
points”
that
quotes
*checks
notes*
a
Reagan
judge.
Hm.
Maybe
the
ABA’s
position
isn’t
as
one-sided
as
Ferguson
would
like
to
pretend
it
is.
The
letter
also
slams
the
ABA
for
being
in
bed
with
Big
Tech.
Listen,
there
are
legitimate
concerns
about
the
revolving
door
between
government
and
private
sector
—
just
ask
Ed
Martin
—
yet
this
perennial
issue
doesn’t
feel
like
the
motivating
factor
behind
the
FTC’s
petty
move.
Even
the
specific
evidence
Ferguson
uses
to
extend
his
case
is
from
2022,
when
the
ABA
Antitrust
Section
opposed
the
American
Innovation
and
Choice
Online
Act,
sponsored
by…
Democratic
Senator
Amy
Klobuchar.
Sigh.
There
appears
to
be
more
than
a
little
bit
of
tension
between
Ferguson’s
first
and
second
argument.
The
Trump
administration
has
proven
in
the
less-than-a-month
it’s
been
back
in
charge
they’re
willing
to
go
scorched
earth.
The
ABA
smacked
at
the
administration,
so
now
the
FTC
won’t
pay
their
employees’
$195
membership
fee.
I’m
sure
this
isn’t
the
last
tit-for-tat
we’ll
see
out
of
the
Trump
II
reign.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].