WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President-elect on Tuesday named Andrew Ferguson as the next chair of the .
He will replace Lina Khan, who became a lightning rod for Wall Street and Silicon Valley by blocking billions of dollars' worth of corporate acquisitions and suing Amazon and Meta while .
Ferguson is already one of the FTC's five commissioners, which is currently made up of three Democrats and two Republicans.
鈥淎ndrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country,鈥� Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding, 鈥淎ndrew will be the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country鈥檚 History.鈥�
The replacement of Khan likely means that the FTC will operate with a lighter touch when it comes to antitrust enforcement. The new chair is expected to appoint new directors of the FTC's antitrust and consumer protection divisions.
鈥淭hese changes likely will make the FTC more favorable to business than it has been in recent years, though the extent to which is to be determined,鈥� wrote Anthony DiResta, a consumer protection attorney at Holland & Knight, .
Deals that were blocked by the Biden administration could find new life with Trump in command.
For example, the new leadership could be more open to a proposed merger between the country鈥檚 two biggest supermarket chains, Kroger and Albertsons, which forged a $24.6 billion deal to combine in 2022. Two judges Tuesday night.
The FTC had earlier this year to block the merger, claiming the deal would eliminate competition, leading to higher prices and lower wages for workers. The two companies say a merger would help them lower prices and compete against bigger rivals like Walmart.
One of the judges said the FTC had shown it was likely to prevail in the administrative hearing.
Yet given the widespread public concern over high grocery prices, the Trump administration may not fully abandon the FTC's efforts to block the deal, some experts have said.
And the FTC may continue to scrutinize Big Tech firms for any anticompetitive behavior. Many Republican politicians have accused firms such as Meta of censoring conservative views, and some officials in Trump's orbit, most notably Vice President-elect JD Vance, have previously expressed support for Khan's scrutiny of Big Tech firms.
In addition to Fergson, Trump also announced Tuesday that he had selected Jacob Helberg as the next undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment.
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Christopher Rugaber, The Associated Press
