Trump Picks Andrew Ferguson to Lead Federal Trade Commission

by · NY Times

Trump Picks Andrew Ferguson to Lead Federal Trade Commission

Mr. Ferguson, a current Republican member of the agency, will replace Lina Khan, who had aggressively challenged mergers and the power of the biggest tech companies.

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Andrew Ferguson, a veteran Congressional aide and former Supreme Court clerk, joined the F.T.C. as a minority party member in the spring, and does not need to be confirmed.
Credit...Patrick Farrell/The Knight Foundation

By Cecilia Kang and David McCabe

Reporting from Washington

President-elect Donald J. Trump on Tuesday named Andrew Ferguson to lead the Federal Trade Commission, installing a current Republican member of the agency who has promised to ease up on the policing of powerful American companies — except for the biggest technology firms.

Mr. Trump also picked Mark Meador, a former Senate antitrust aide, to join the agency, creating a Republican majority on the five-person commission and squeezing out the current Democratic chair, Lina Khan. Ms. Khan became a political lightning rod for aggressively challenging mergers like Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard, and filing lawsuits to break up tech titans Amazon and Meta.

Mr. Ferguson, a veteran Congressional aide and former Supreme Court clerk, joined the F.T.C. as a minority party member in the spring, and does not need to be confirmed. He recently made inroads with Mr. Trump’s circle and traveled last week to Mar-a-Lago to pitch the president-elect on a vision for the F.T.C., according to a person familiar with the trip.

The agency should continue its strong scrutiny of the dominance of the biggest tech platforms, Mr. Ferguson told members of Mr. Trump’s transition team, according to the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly. Still, he called for rolling back some of Ms. Khan’s agenda, including ending efforts to regulate artificial intelligence and abandoning tougher standards for mergers.

With the appointment, Mr. Trump is sending an important signal that he plans to change the direction of the agency responsible for policing consumer protection.

Importantly, Mr. Ferguson — and other Trump appointees, including the new Federal Communications Commission chair nominee — have vowed to extend their regulatory scope to target social media sites that police conservative voices. That type of expansion could run up against First Amendment challenges.

“Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country,” Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Andrew will be the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country’s History.”

Mr. Ferguson, writing on X, thanked Mr. Trump. “At the F.T.C., we will end Big Tech’s vendetta against competition and free speech,” he said. “We will make sure that America is the world’s technological leader and the best place for innovators to bring new ideas to life.”

Mr. Ferguson and Mr. Meador did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The F.T.C. declined to comment on Ms. Khan’s behalf. Punchbowl previously reported on Mr. Ferguson’s pitch to lead the F.T.C.

Under Mr. Trump’s first administration, both the F.T.C. and the Department of Justice started major investigations into the control that tech companies have over the way people shop, consume information and communicate online. The two agencies sued Google, Amazon, Apple and Meta, accusing all four of monopolistic behavior.

But in recent months, Mr. Trump has voiced hesitation about corporate regulation, and he has been inconsistent in his views toward the biggest tech companies. He has said that Amazon should not face a breakup of its business. He has also signaled he may save the social media app TikTok from a ban signed into law by President Biden, a reversal from Mr. Trump’s efforts to ban the app during his first term.

Mr. Ferguson’s appointment completes the president-elect’s roster of tech policy leaders. Last week, Mr. Trump named Gail Slater to lead antitrust at the Department of Justice, and the venture capitalist David Sacks as his adviser on A.I. and cryptocurrencies. Late last month, he named Brendan Carr to chair the F.C.C.

Ms. Khan, the current chair who was appointed by President Biden in March 2021, pushed the F.T.C. to aggressively police the biggest tech companies and other companies. At her direction, the agency tried to excavate century-old antitrust laws to apply in the internet era.

In addition to suing Amazon and Meta, Ms. Khan’s staff blocked or stymied billions of dollars in corporate deals — winning on Tuesday a court ruling to block the $25 billion Kroger-Albertsons grocery merger, for example — drawing condemnations from Wall Street and its allies. Ms. Khan approved new restrictions on commonplace business practices she viewed as abusive, including noncompete agreements.

Business groups have been critical of Ms. Khan and, during the presidential campaign, billionaires including Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman and Barry Diller called for her to be fired. Ms. Khan could stay on the commission until Mr. Meador is confirmed.

Mr. Ferguson studied at the University of Virginia, where he received a law degree. He first worked at private law firms where he represented clients on antitrust matters. He then spent much of his career behind the scenes, as a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and then as an aide to Republican Senate leaders, including as the chief counsel to Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader.

Mr. Meador, a partner at Kressin Meador Powers LLC, a boutique antitrust law firm, previously served as the deputy chief counsel for antitrust for Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah. He has also worked at the antitrust divisions of the F.T.C. and Department of Justice.

Mr. Ferguson’s views on antitrust law have evolved, he said on a podcast called The Dynamist in November. While Republicans traditionally have been free market-oriented and have not leaned toward regulation, he’s come to view big social media companies and advertisers as biased toward liberal views, he said.

On social media and in the podcast interview, Mr. Ferguson has accused platforms of censoring skepticism toward the Covid-19 virus and accusations from the right wing about potential crimes by Mr. Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.

“The F.T.C. must protect Americans’ freedom of speech online,” Mr. Ferguson said earlier this month in a post on the social media site X. “If platforms or advertisers are colluding to suppress free speech in violation of the antitrust laws, the F.T.C. must prosecute them and break up those cartels.”

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