The Trump administration has abruptly removed three Democratic members from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), including Chairman Alexander Hoehn-Saric, Mary Boyle, and Richard Trumka Jr. — all originally appointed by Joe Biden. The ouster comes as part of a broader reshuffling of federal regulatory bodies and has reignited tensions over the commission’s controversial push to regulate or even ban gas stoves.

According to The Hill, Hoehn-Saric and his staff arrived at work only to find themselves locked out of the CPSC building. Boyle and Trumka were notified separately of their firings. All three officials had been confirmed by the Senate and were part of the five-member commission responsible for overseeing product safety regulations and consumer recalls.

The CPSC became a political lightning rod in early 2023 when comments by Trumka Jr. sparked a nationwide backlash against potential restrictions on gas stove usage. While the commission later clarified it was not proposing a ban at the time, Republicans seized on the remarks as evidence of regulatory overreach. Trump’s latest move appears to be a direct response to that controversy.

William Wallace, director of safety advocacy at Consumer Reports, condemned the firings in a sharply worded statement. “This is an appalling and lawless attack on the independence of our country’s product safety watchdog,” he said. “Anyone who cares about keeping their family safe should oppose this move and demand that it be reversed.”

Wallace also accused the administration of staging a “power grab,” comparing it to a February incident when Democrats were locked out of USAID offices by the Department of Government Efficiency, also under Trump’s authority.

“These commissioners were appointed and confirmed under the law,” Wallace continued. “For more than five decades, members of Congress from both parties have supported the role of an independent, bipartisan CPSC. Today’s Congress must step up to defend the agency and reaffirm that our laws actually mean what they say.”

So far, the Trump White House has not announced who will replace the three commissioners or whether the agency will move in a new direction on appliance regulation. However, the decision signals an aggressive posture toward federal bureaucracies that conservatives believe have become too partisan or too powerful.

This is not the first time Trump has made dramatic personnel changes to regulatory commissions, but it may be one of the most high-profile. By targeting a commission that became a flashpoint in the culture war over gas stoves, the administration appears to be sending a message that it won’t tolerate what it sees as ideological interference in household decisions.

Whether Congress will intervene or attempt to reverse the firings remains unclear, but Republicans so far have remained quiet — likely signaling approval of a move that many on the right see as long overdue.