Lina Khan, a well-known anti-monopolist and a vocal critic of Big Tech companies, got bipartisan approval from the Senate Commerce Committee Wednesday for her nomination to the Federal Trade Commission.
She received support from everyone on the committee except four Republican members: Sens. Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Mike Lee of Utah, and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming.
DEMOCRATIC TOP REGULATOR SAYS BREAKING UP BIG TECH COULD A GOOD, ‘CONSERVATIVE’ SOLUTION
The top Republican on the committee, Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, said before the vote Wednesday that he was worried about “over-regulation” of corporations but nevertheless chose to support Khan.
Republicans were unusually welcoming to Khan during a hearing last month, due to the bipartisan interest in reining in tech companies.
Khan is an antitrust professor at Columbia Law School whose research has focused on technology markets. She previously worked as an aide to Democratic FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra and served as a top adviser on the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel, which conducted a major investigation into abuse by Big Tech platforms.
She is perhaps best known for publishing a groundbreaking paper as a law student at Yale on “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox,” which concluded that many of the retail giant’s actions, particularly its price-setting practices, could break antitrust law.
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If confirmed by the Senate, Khan, 32, would be the youngest person ever to serve on the five-member trade commission. She would join the commission at a time when it is expected to feature more aggressive antitrust enforcement, especially with regard to Big Tech, now that it is set to receive bipartisan support for funding and resources.
