Biden names two Republican nominees for FTC commissioner, White House says (updated)

Black Knight

03/07/2023 20:35

(Recasts paragraph two, adds new paragraphs 4, 5, 10 and 11
with matters before the commission,)
       WASHINGTON, July 3 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden
has nominated Virginia Solicitor General Andrew Ferguson and
Utah Solicitor General Melissa Holyoak to fill Republican slots
at the Federal Trade Commission, the White House said Monday.
    If the U.S. Senate confirms them, the two Republicans will
not change the balance of power at the FTC, which enforces
antitrust law and rules against deceptive advertising. It
currently has a Democratic chair, Lina Khan, and two Democratic
commissioners.
        Khan said in a statement that Ferguson and Holyoak
"would bring key skills, experiences, and expertise to the
Commission."
  
        The FTC "operates best at full strength, and I will look
forward to working with them," she said.
  
    Under the Biden administration, the FTC has taken a tougher
stand against mergers it finds may lead to higher prices for
consumers or stunt innovation. 
        The FTC filed an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook
during former President Donald Trump's administration, which has
not yet gone to trial. The agency is expected to file a case
against Amazon.com, perhaps as early as this summer. 
  
        It is also considering Kroger's plan to buy rival grocer
Albertsons, among other deals.
  
    Ferguson was chief counsel to U.S. Senate Republican Leader
Mitch McConnell from 2019 until 2021. He has also worked for
Senators Lindsey Graham and Chuck Grassley.
    A native of Virginia, Ferguson has an undergraduate degree
from the University of Virginia and a law degree from the
University of Virginia School of Law.
    Holyoak is the Utah Solicitor General with the Utah Attorney
General's Office. She has previously worked as an associate at
the law firm O'Melveny & Myers LLP, and at Hamilton Lincoln Law
Institute, which focuses on fighting class action lawsuits and
aggressive regulation, as well as at the Competitive Enterprise
Institute and the Center for Class Action Fairness.
    Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Utah, as
is her law degree.
        Among its current cases, the FTC sued to stop
Microsoft's $69 billion deal to buy Activision, and is awaiting
a court decision in the matter. 
  
        Also this year, the agency has filed complaints aimed at
stopping a pharmaceutical deal, 
    Amgen's  AMGN.O  purchase of Horizon Therapeutics  HZNP.O 
    , as well as 
    Intercontinental Exchange's  ICE.N  planned purchase of
Black Knight
     BKI.N . It is also 
    fighting Illumina
      ILMN.O  over its purchase of Grail  GRAL.O . 
  

 (Reporting by Diane Bartz and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Eric
Beech and David Gregorio)
 ((Kanishka.Singh@thomsonreuters.com; +12024508248;))