Lina Khan's FTC era ends; Andrew Ferguson named chairman

Incoming President Donald Trump announced on social media on Tuesday that Andrew Ferguson, one of the two Republican Federal Trade Commission members appointed by US President Joe Biden, will serve as the next chairman of the US Federal Trade Commission.

The news brought relief in some circles. Many in Silicon Valley blame current FTC Chair Lina Khan for a lack of M&A activity, with critics citing the antitrust cases the agency began bringing in June 2021 against big tech companies under her leadership.

Khan's term expired in September but he remains in the post. sit down In an interview with TechCrunch last June, she told some of these critics: “[If]you’re a startup or a founder looking to make an acquisition as an exit, I think there are six options in this world. , a world with seven or eight potential suitors is better than a world with only one or two potential suitors.

Trump wrote on Tuesday that Ferguson, who previously served as a congressional aide and Supreme Court clerk, would be “the most America-first, most pro-innovation Federal Trade Commission chairman in the history of our country.”