Andrew Ferguson, one of two Republican FTC commissioners appointed by US President Joe Biden, will be the country’s next FTC chairman, incoming President Donald Trump announced on social media on Tuesday.
The news has been met with relief in some circles. Many in Silicon Valley blamed current FTC Chair Lina Khan for the dearth of M&A activity, with critics citing antitrust cases the agency has brought against big tech companies under her leadership, which began in June 2021.
Khan, whose term expired in September but who remained in office, sat down with britcommerce last June, where he addressed some of those critics and said: “[If] “If you are a startup or a founder who is eager for an acquisition as an exit, I think a world where you have six, seven or eight potential suitors is a better world than one where you only have one or two.”
Ferguson, who previously served as a congressional aide and Supreme Court clerk, will be “the most American-first and most pro-innovation FTC chairman in the history of our country,” Trump wrote Tuesday.