The race to replace Lina Khan as chair of the Federal Trade Commission is reaching a climax, pitting antitrust hawks against candidates seen as taking a softer approach to enforcing Big Tech. told the Post.
President-elect Donald Trump's populist allies have pushed for a crackdown on Google and other Silicon Valley companies, including in the past Mr. Khan, the 35-year-old trustbuster whom President-elect Biden appointed in 2021. This includes Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, who praised him.
But other Republican leaders favor a more pro-business law enforcement approach that would pave the way for deals and acquisitions.
The frontrunner is Melissa Holyoake, a Republican FTC commissioner and former Utah Republican attorney general.
Holyoak, who came under fire during the FTC review process over his past ties to Silicon Valley, is expected to allow the deal to go through as long as consumers are protected, the people said.
Holyoak is joined by fellow FTC incumbent Republican Andrew Ferguson and Mark Meador, a former Justice Department and FTC official who served as antitrust policy advisor to Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). is one of the candidates.
“I think Melissa is the slight favorite,” one person close to the transition team told the Post.
But the anti-monopoly watchdog group has criticized Holyoak's past five years as a lawyer at the Institute for Competitive Enterprise, a free-market think tank that receives funding from Google, Meta and Amazon and “advocates for the abolition of antitrust laws.” took over his term. According to the website.
“There is a huge gulf between Big Tech and Little Tech. She is seen as the most preferred choice for Big Tech,” said a source close to the transition team. “That's definitely her biggest negative. You could see Meta's closeness with Google ultimately driving her crazy.”
Regarding Meador, Recently quoted in the Financial Times Concerns are widespread among unnamed “Wall Street and Big Tech executives,” who reportedly fear that he will continue in the same way as Mr. Khan and Mr. Kanter.
Mr Lee, the influential top Republican on the Senate antitrust subcommittee, told the FT he was confident Mr Holyoak and Mr Meador would “continue to hold Big Tech accountable” if elected.
Mr. Ferguson is a former chief of staff to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and once clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Mike Davis, who was chief adviser on nominations to the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman at the time, said Ferguson's relationship with McConnell (who has had a rocky relationship with Trump over the years) gave him a chance at the top job at the FTC. Concerns that it could be damaged are overblown, he said. Chuck Grassley.
“He worked for Mr. McConnell, and Mr. Trump is a fiery 'America First' populist figure,” Davis said. “Andrew has worked at the Senate, where he confirmed Trump's judges, at the Virginia Attorney General's Office, where he filed a landmark antitrust case against Google, and at the Federal Trade Commission, where he served as an executive. Well, I've proven that in every job I've ever held.'' Engineers have a responsibility. ”
Ferguson and Holyoak have already been confirmed by the Senate as current members and do not need to go through the confirmation process again.
This eases the path to taking over as acting chair and ultimately earning a permanent nomination.
Conversely, Meador must first be confirmed as FTC commissioner, but until this process is complete, President Trump will likely appoint either Holyoak or Ferguson as acting commissioner, making it a lengthy process. Probably.
Mr. Holyoake's team believes he has a “very good chance” of being named acting FTC chairman following Mr. Khan's resignation, a second person familiar with the situation said.
Mr. Khan and the Justice Department's antitrust chief, Jonathan Canter, will leave their positions after Trump takes office, citing a tough line on enforcement that has infuriated Wall Street and Silicon Valley. .
Sources said the situation was fluid and that Trump could not rule out the possibility of eliminating all three front-runners and choosing someone else.
Recent nominees, including attorney general nominee Pam Bondi and Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent, are expected to provide input into the FTC's selection as well.
“If President Trump appoints Holyoak to serve as acting or permanent FTC chairman, it would be a sign that he is throwing in the towel on Big Tech,” said a former U.S. Congressional official who tracks antitrust issues. one told the Post. “Lobbyists, executives and lawyers at Big Tech companies will be broadly pleased.”
Earlier this year, the Post obtained emails showing a friendly relationship between Holyoak and his former colleagues at CEI, including exchanging legal advice on high-profile cases such as the Apple v. Epic Games antitrust case.
In an exchange with Holyoak, CEI Director Kent Rathman wrote that the FTC “would be a waste to burn down.”
A source close to Holyoak disputed the criticism, noting that she had never personally represented any of the companies as she faced off with Google, TikTok and Facebook in court while in Utah. .
Holyoak has also called on the FTC to crack down on deplatforming and censorship by Big Tech companies, most recently issuing a consent statement earlier this month in connection with the FTC's lawsuit against online sneaker retailer GOAT, the source said. added the person.
In Utah, Holyoak played a role in negotiating a $700 million settlement between Google and a coalition of U.S. states over anti-competitive Android app store practices. Some critics charged that the agreement was too lenient.
A key part of President Trump's antitrust policy took shape Wednesday with the nomination of Gail Slater, an Oxford-educated lawyer and close ally of Mr. Vance, to be assistant attorney general for antitrust at the Justice Department. It became.
Slater was seen as the front-runner to become FTC chairman even before he was elected. Anti-monopoly watchdog groups hailed the move as a sign that President Trump wants to continue cracking down on companies like Google and Apple.
In a post on Truth Social announcing his selection, President Trump said, “Big Tech has been running wild for years, stifling competition in our most innovative fields,'' and that the Justice Department's antitrust division “ “Under Mr. Gale's leadership,” he added, “we will continue to crack down on bad actors.”
One tech policy executive, who requested anonymity, said Holyoak's nomination to chair the FTC would be a boon for Mark Zuckerberg's Mehta. Mehta is currently being sued by the FTC, despite rivals Google and Apple being sued by the Justice Department.
“Meta is fine with Gail leading the Justice Department and Melissa leading the FTC. They're going to be bulldogs going after their enemies.” [Apple and Google] “It's the pet dog at the Department of Justice that ends FTC prosecutions,” said a technology policy executive.
Caroline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump's transition team, did not respond to a request for comment.
He previously said a decision on Trump's nomination “will be announced as soon as it is made.”
Mr Holyoak and Mr Slater declined to comment. Meador did not respond to requests for comment.
