As 2024 comes to a close, so does the current leadership of the FTC. The switch in administrations comes with a transition in leadership at government agencies, and the incoming Trump Administration has just announced its pick to head the FTC. President-Elect Trump has selected Andrew Ferguson as Chair of the agency, a current commissioner with the FTC, and former solicitor general of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
According to the NY Times Deal Book Newsletter, the move “validates the view of corporate deal makers that a second Trump administration would be good for M&A, after [former FTC Chair Lina] Khan challenged big takeovers to help shift antitrust case law.” However, the Times notes that Ferguson does share his predecessor’s belief that there needs to be a crackdown on Big Tech.
The Times article highlights the sheer number of merger challenges the FTC has pursued under Chair Khan. While the FTC was not always successful in these challenges, its opposition was impactful in slowing the pace of M&A over the past few years. Ferguson, by contrast, has been critical of some of Chair Khan’s decisions, signaling that the FTC’s posture would likely change once he takes over next year. Additionally, Trump has selected Mark Meador as a fifth FTC Commissioner to replace Chair Khan, a move that, if confirmed by the Senate, would yield a Republican majority within the agency.
Ferguson will inherit some ongoing antitrust litigation and investigations that are focused largely on the tech sector, according to Politico, and reporting indicates that he does share Khan’s skepticism of Big Tech. But his issues with the industry seem to center more on free speech and a focus on censorship of conservative views online. In an online statement, Commissioner Ferguson wrote, “The FTC must protect Americans’ freedom of speech online.”
As a current Commissioner, Ferguson will not have to go through the Senate confirmation process to become Chair, so he will take over that role as soon as the Administration changes on January 20. He could, of course, continue some of the litigations and investigations into tech giants, or he could change their direction, reduce their scope, or potentially close some of them outright. Only time will tell the significance of the changes we will see at the FTC, but it does seem likely that we will see a relatively friendlier business climate from the FTC as we embark on 2025.