The Liberty Justice Center has issued demand letters to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), aiming to hold CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. accountable for blatant abuses of power that have severely harmed small businesses.
In November 2023, the CPSC rejected a proposal by Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. to issue mandatory standards for weighted infant sleep products such as swaddles and blankets, holding that the agency did not have enough evidence to prove a hazard. Despite this rejection, Trumka sent a series of letters in April 2024 instructing major retailers across the country to immediately halt the sale and distribution of weighted infant sleep products. Trumka’s letters singled out Nested Bean, an immigrant-owned business founded by engineer and mother Manasi Gangan in 2011. Retailers that received these letters immediately severed ties with Nested Bean, decimating the business—but continued to stock other infant sleep products by brands not referenced in Trumka’s instructions.
When confronted, Trumka claimed the letters were simply personal statements—even though he issued them on official CPSC letterhead and posted them to the CPSC’s official website and social media accounts.
In November 2024, the Liberty Justice Center issued a demand letter on Nested Bean’s behalf, asserting that Trumka exceeded his statutory authority by unilaterally issuing a public statement on behalf of the CPSC. Trumka’s abuse of power has also triggered an investigation by the U.S. House Committee on Small Business. The Liberty Justice Center’s demand letter called for Trumka’s inaccurate statements—such as references to “multiple infant deaths” and insinuations of a “risk of death”—to be retracted immediately because there have been no reported injuries or deaths linked to Nested Bean’s products and because the CPSC did not issue a recall, ban, or stop sale order for Nested Bean’s products.
In response, the CPSC declined to fully retract Trumka’s statements. Instead, individual commissioners proposed potential courses of action—but then failed to vote on any of the proposals.
On February 13, the Liberty Justice Center sent another demand letter urging the CPSC to vote on one commissioner’s proposal, which would require the CPSC to send a follow-up letter to retailers clarifying that Trumka’s statements against weighted infant sleep products do not constitute a recall, ban, or stop sale order because Trumka exceeded his authority and attempted to speak on behalf of the entire CPSC to advance his own agenda.
The Liberty Justice Center also sent a demand letter to HHS asking the agency to rescind statements made by the prior administration against the use of weighted infant sleep products, due to a lack of scientific or statutory support for those statements. The letter urges HHS to correct the prior administration’s overreach of power, noting that HHS does not have legal authority to regulate consumer products.
The Liberty Justice Center’s demand letters provide a window of 30 business days for the CPSC to address these abuses of power. If the agencies fail to act within this timeframe, the Liberty Justice Center will pursue legal action to challenge Trumka’s misconduct and ensure that the CPSC is not used as a political tool to harm small businesses.
“No government official has the authority to leverage a position of political power to advance their own pet project. Commissioner Trumka’s actions have not only overstepped his authority, but also violated public trust and caused irreparable damage to small businesses like Nested Bean. We urge the CPSC and HHS to swiftly resolve this matter, and we stand ready to challenge Trumka’s abuse of power in court,” said Loren Seehase.
The Liberty Justice Center’s demand letters to the CPSC and HHS are available here. The initial November 11 demand letter urging the CPSC to retract Commissioner Trumka’s misleading statements is available here.