Trump Nominates Andrew Ferguson as FTC Chair

· Investopedia

Key Takeaways

  • President-elect Donald Trump has picked Republican lawyer Andrew Ferguson as his nominee to lead the Federal Trade Commission, potentially succeeding Lina Khan.
  • Khan has been tough on corporate mergers—and has been cracking down on Big Tech during her time heading the FTC. 
  • Ferguson may go easier on M&A deals but stay tough on tech firms.

President-elect Donald Trump named Republican lawyer Andrew Ferguson as his nominee for the next chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, succeeding Lina Khan, who famously has been tough on both mergers and Big Tech.

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

Ferguson Plans to Take On Big Tech

Ferguson joined the FTC as a commissioner in April. He wrote on the X social media platform Tuesday that the FTC, under his guidance, “will end Big Tech’s vendetta against competition and free speech."

“We will make sure that America is the world’s technological leader and the best place for innovators to bring new ideas to life,” Ferguson wrote.  

Trump also on Tuesday nominated Republican antitrust lawyer Mark Meador to be an FTC commissioner. Meador, The Wall Street Journal reported, is a former aide to Sen. Mike Lee (R., Utah), who led the recent introduction of legislation to break up Alphabet's Google (GOOGL).

The FTC under Khan has sued Amazon (AMZN) and Meta Platforms (META) for allegedly abusing their monopolistic position to stifle competition.

M&A Is Well Off 2021's Highs

Bankers may cheer the Ferguson appointment, viewing him as more friendly to deals. Total U.S. M&A volume so far this year is $1.35 trillion, just slightly up from 2023 numbers and well off the level of $2.62 trillion in 2021, according to Dealogic figures that exclude debt.

Khan has blocked billions of dollars worth of deals, including the long-planned $20 billion merger between Kroger (KR) and Albertsons (ACI), which a federal judge blocked yesterday. Albertsons terminated the deal Wednesday and said it filed a lawsuit alleging that Kroger took a “willfully deficient" approach to securing regulatory clearance.

Do you have a news tip for Investopedia reporters? Please email us at tips@investopedia.com