White House trade adviser Peter Navarro urged lawmakers probing Big Tech monopolies to call on billionaire e-commerce CEO Jeff Bezos to testify before the House Judiciary Committee.
President Trump, Navarro told the Hill, “made it clear to me” that internet companies such as Amazon should be held to account for “the damage they are doing to consumers, workers, and even our national security.” The administration claims that sales of counterfeit goods on the e-commerce platform harm consumers and businesses and pose a risk to national security when counterfeit products are used by defense employees or contractors in secure systems.
“E-commerce platforms, absent market power, are doing great damage,” Navarro said. “When you add the market power of the Amazons and eBays of this world to the mix, it’s counterfeiting danger on steroids.”
Judiciary Committee Chairman David Cicilline of Rhode Island, a Democrat, has called for public testimony from tech executives previously, including Bezos, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. The committee has not publicly said whether it intends to subpoena Facebook, Google, Apple, or Amazon for testimony or to share documents in the investigation.
Republicans have been notably wary, with ranking member Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia and ranking Antitrust Subcommittee member Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin expressing reservations in the past. Just one Republican involved in the investigation has said publicly he would support subpoenas: Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, a vocal Trump ally.
But in an about-face at the meeting Wednesday, Collins told Navarro they would be happy to help. “We’re on this. Anything you need,” he said.
Collins has announced a run for Senate and must leave his position on the Judiciary Committee by March 12. It is not clear if Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, tapped to replace him, will agree to the position.
