In a six-hour special legislative session, the Alliance Senate voted to strip Senator Alek Lockwood (LS-Vega) of his appointment as Deputy Chair of the GTA Trade Commission. Lockwood has repeatedly opposed measures that would increase the Trade Commission's scope, sometimes resorting to filibusters and other procedural tricks to force concessions. During today's deliberations, Lockwood stated that the Commission was being forced into roles it was never intended for and unprepared for. Senator Lise Weng (M-Delta Serpentis) harshly rebuked this argument, pointing out that "the Alliance must adapt to the troubled times it finds itself in" and accusing Senator Lockwood of opposing his own committee's mission for political gain. After six hours of deliberation, the vote fell largely along party lines, with the Conservatives siding with the Moderates to claim a twenty-vote lead.

This vote will likely be controversial, especially in Senator Lockwood's home system of Vega. Some have called it an unwarranted political attack, while others have expressed optimism about economic revitalization under a stronger economic authority. Lockwood has said that he does not intend to seek reappointment, preferring to work with his party and philosophically-aligned Labor, Moderate, and independent senators to select a successor who "will continue to ensure the Trade Commission does not become the GTA's gangland enforcer". (A vote to censure Lockwood for this comment was proposed, but not pursued.)

