By Jody Godoy
(Reuters) – A leadership change at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, a central part of the Biden administration’s pro-consumer agenda and a lightning rod for corporate criticism, is likely to take months under the Trump administration.
What happens to chairwoman Lina Khan?
FTC Chairman Lina Khan’s fight against corporate consolidation on behalf of consumers has won fans among Democrats and some Republicans, including newly elected Vice President J.D. Vance. Despite Vance’s praise for her approach, Khan is not considered likely to stay beyond the inauguration.
Gail Slater, an adviser to Vance, a former FTC attorney and director at Fox Corp and Roku, is involved in vetting candidates to lead the agency, according to sources familiar with the matter. She is also seen as a potential candidate for the FTC chairmanship.
Who will lead the agency next?
Although Khan’s term expired in September, she can remain as commissioner until a replacement is confirmed — although she will likely be quickly replaced as chairman after Trump comes to power.
One of the two Republicans on the committee, Andrew Ferguson, former chief counsel for Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, or Melissa Holyoak, the former attorney general of Utah, is expected to become the agency’s acting chairman and set priorities for the FTC staff while a replacement is confirmed.
Both Holyoak and Ferguson, who was once Virginia’s attorney general, were involved in antitrust cases against Big Tech companies before becoming commissioners.
Under Biden, it took six months for Khan to be appointed, and the FTC had an acting chairman for nearly a year and a half during the first Trump administration from 2017-2021.
Khan could choose to resign in January, leaving the committee evenly split between Republicans and Democrats.
What is the procedure for appointing a new chairman?
Typically, an incoming president appoints new agency heads, who undergo a confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate, where they are questioned, then voted on, first in a Senate committee and then by the entire Senate.
The timing of the process depends on how Trump prioritizes appointments — typically other agencies take priority over the FTC.
However, Trump has called on Republicans who will lead the Senate to hold it during the recess when the new term begins, allowing him to appoint agency leaders without a vote for up to two years.
What happens to Khan’s initiatives?
Khan’s broad approach to antitrust enforcement could continue under the Trump administration, but the rules the FTC adopted during her tenure are on shakier ground.
If Republicans gain control of the U.S. House of Representatives, in addition to the majority they will have in the U.S. Senate, Congress could invalidate a rule passed in October that requires companies to offer easy cancellation methods for subscriptions. The FTC’s two Republican commissioners voted against the rule.
The same goes for any rule the agency could adopt before the end of Biden’s term, such as a ban proposed late last year on undisclosed or misleading “junk” fees that could increase prices for concert tickets, hotel rooms and more .
(Reporting by Jody Godoy; Editing by Chris Sanders and Jonathan Oatis)
