The Senate recently confirmed Andrew N. Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak as commissioners to the Federal Trade Commission in a unanimous vote. Their appointment not only returned the agency to five members for the first since 2022 but also restored bipartisan representation. Ferguson and Holyoak are both Republican. For almost a year, the FTC had been run by three Democratic appointees.
Ferguson and Holyoak have an essential task before them: They must confront the progressive reign of Chairwoman Lina Khan to reorient the FTC toward its mission. Otherwise, Khan’s aggressive and arbitrary enforcement will continue to harm consumers.
Christine Wilson, the last Republican-nominated commissioner, resigned on March 31, 2023. In an op-ed explaining her decision to step down, she blasted Khan’s “disregard for the rule of law and due process.” She also outlined a long list of abuses that she observed while serving, arguably the most eyebrow-raising being Khan’s ethically questionable involvement in the FTC’s challenge to Meta’s acquisition of Within, a virtual reality startup.
