NCLA Sues CPSC and Commissioner Feldman for Illegally Banning Lobbyist from Agency Buildings
Washington, DC, Oct. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The New Civil Liberties Alliance filed a complaint today against the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Commissioner Peter A. Feldman for unconstitutionally barring lobbyist Edward Krenik from entering CPSC buildings and in-person meetings with agency personnel. NCLA asks the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for declaratory and injunctive relief in Krenik v. Feldman stopping the Commission, Feldman, and CPSC’s employees from enforcing the unconstitutional restrictions against Krenik, believed to be the first of their kind.
On August 28, CPSC sent Mr. Krenik a letter barring him from entering all CPSC facilities and “areas located directly outside.” It baselessly accuses Krenik of posing a credible threat to agency personnel. The Commission’s bar purportedly restricts how he can communicate with CPSC personnel and threatens him with criminal prosecution if he violates the bar. The bar appears to be in direct retaliation for Krenik’s First Amendment-protected lobbying activities. The Commission issued the unconstitutional bar without notice or hearing, and it identifies no factual basis for the bar—which chills Krenik’s protected First Amendment activities. These restrictions violate Krenik’s First Amendment rights to free speech and to petition the government, as well as his Fifth Amendment right to due process of law.
Meeting in person with CPSC personnel is a vital part of Mr. Krenik’s lobbying work, and he has spoken with Commissioners and staff through official and unofficial channels many times. He is now barred from in-person meetings. This is a direct affront to core constitutional protections, including the venerable right to petition the government for a redress of grievances in the way his professional judgment dictates, which he has done for decades.
In addition to barring Krenik, CPSC reported him to the Federal Protective Service (FPS) which initiated an investigation into Krenik’s communications with Defendants. Last fall, on a client’s behalf, Krenik called Feldman and said he was concerned that CPSC’s compliance office and other offices were acting out of step with Trump Administration priorities. He urged Feldman to step in and fix the problem, informing Feldman that his client had given him permission to lobby the White House directly. Soon after, Krenik contacted White House personnel for that purpose and raised concerns about CPSC and Feldman’s out-of-step actions.
Krenik’s conduct is protected by the First Amendment. CPSC’s decision to bar him nearly a year after the fall 2025 phone call appears to be retaliation for Krenik’s advocacy work. Defendants waited months to report his conduct, claiming it was “abusive and disruptive,” but only did so after the Commission’s quorum was restored for the first time since August 2025, allowing Feldman and CPSC to take other actions affecting Krenik’s clients.
NCLA released the following statements:
“If a security threat were real, it would not sit quietly for almost a year. The timing of the bar tells the story: CPSC and Acting Chairman Feldman acted within days of the Senate restoring the Commission’s quorum, just when Mr. Krenik’s advocacy would matter most. The right to petition keeps government answerable to the governed, and it means nothing if officials can banish those with whom they disagree.”
— Kara Rollins, Senior Litigation Counsel, NCLA
“Federal agencies are not personal fiefdoms. NCLA looks forward to getting to the bottom of what happened here. If Acting Chairman Feldman has pursued a personal vendetta to keep someone from lobbying folks at his agency, that is highly improper—indeed, it would be sufficient cause for his removal.”
— Mark Chenoweth, President and Chief Legal Officer, NCLA
For more information visit the case page here.
ABOUT NCLA
NCLA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group founded by prominent legal scholar Philip Hamburger to protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the Administrative State. NCLA’s public-interest litigation and other pro bono advocacy strive to tame the unlawful power of state and federal agencies and to foster a new civil liberties movement that will help restore Americans’ fundamental rights.
Joe Martyak New Civil Liberties Alliance 202-869-5208 joe.martyak@ncla.legal
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