FTC chair called a 'disaster' as congressional hearing starts (updated)

Horizon Therapeutics

13/07/2023 16:02

(Adds opening statement from Chairman Jordan)
    By Diane Bartz
       WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) - Lina Khan, the
progressive head of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC),
went before a Republican-led House committee on Thursday where
she faced tough questions and intense criticism from
Republicans.  
    The hearing before the House Judiciary Committee began with
Chairman Jim Jordan calling Khan's tenure at the agency a
"disaster," pointing in particular to a probe of billionaire
Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter, which the Republican has
argued was an overreach. 
    Lawmakers have requested documents regarding the agency's
review, and said the FTC did not respond adequately.
Conservatives, without evidence, have accused social media
companies, including Twitter before it was acquired by Musk, of
seeking to stifle conservative voices.
    The top Democrat on the committee, Jerry Nadler, immediately
shot back that concentration in certain areas of the U.S.
economy was a problem that the agency was tackling. "Ultimately
Chair Khan, you will face attacks today because you are doing
your job. That is what threatens Republicans," added Nadler.
    Khan is expected to be asked about a tough loss on Tuesday
when a federal judge ruled that Microsoft  MSFT.O  could go
forward with its $69 billion deal to buy "Call of Duty" maker
Activision Blizzard  ATVI.O . The agency has said that it would
appeal.
    It was not the first loss for the agency under Khan. It also
lost a fight to stop Facebook parent Meta Platforms  META.O 
from buying VR content maker Within Unlimited. In addition, an
internal FTC judge ruled for Illumina's  ILMN.O  purchase of
Grail  GRAL.O , overruling FTC commissioners. That challenge was
initially brought under the Trump administration. 
    The agency has upcoming legal fights aimed at stopping
Intercontinental Exchange's  ICE.N  $13.1 billion deal for Black
Knight and Amgen's  AMGN.O  purchase of Horizon Therapeutics for
$27.8 billion. 

 (Reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington; Editing by Matthew
Lewis and Bill Berkrot)
 ((Diane.Bartz@thomsonreuters.com;))