WASHINGTON—President-elect Donald Trump said Andrew Ferguson will be the new chair of the Federal Trade Commission, signaling a potentially major shift in the attitude of the independent regulatory agency towards large mergers and acquisitions, which had been under fire from current Democratic chair Lina Khan.
Ferguson, who was sworn in April 2 as an FTC commissioner, will not have to be confirmed by the Senate. He brings extensive conservative credentials to the post, having served as chief counsel to Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell and clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Most analysts believe Ferguson will bring a more sympathetic approach to big corporate deals than Khan. But he is also a critic of the big tech companies that faced lawsuits in recent years from the FTC under Khan.
“Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Prior to joining the FTC, Ferguson most recently was Virginia’s solicitor general. Before that, he was chief counsel to McConnell (R-Ky.) and a Republican counsel on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. He also practiced law at several Washington firms. He earned his undergraduate degree and law degree from the University of Virginia. After law school, Ferguson clerked for Judge Karen L. Henderson on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and for Thomas.
Trump also announced that he is picking Mark Meador to be an FTC commissioner.
“Mark has also worked as an antitrust enforcer at both the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division, and in private practice at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP,” Trump said in a post.
