Trump Appoints Ferguson to Replace Controversial Khan as Head of FTC

On December 10, President-Elect Donald Trump announced that Andrew Ferguson would take over as Chair of the United States Federal Trade Commission. Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social, “Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country.” With the selection, Ferguson will replace Lina Khan, a progressive and staunch anti-corruption advocate whose influence has garnered widespread controversy and praise from both sides of the aisle.

What Is the FTC’s Role?

An independent agency within the federal government, the FTC promotes competition within businesses by enforcing federal consumer protection laws that prevent fraud, deception, and unfair business practices. Working with the Justice Department, the FTC utilizes federal antitrust authority to prosecute and disrupt monopolies and discriminatory business practices.

Recent FTC Actions

Under Lina Khan, the FTC has aggressively stifled mergers and acquisitions they deem monopolistic. The approach has drawn harsh criticism from the business community. Reid Hoffman, billionaire venture capitalist and megadonor to the Kamala Harris campaign, described Khan’s approach as “mostly to bring litigation versus really solidly grounded.” Ken Griffin, CEO of hedge fund behemoth Citadel and donor to President-Elect Trump, had also harshly criticized Khan’s FTC, saying, “We’ve had the most hyper-aggressive FTC in modern history.”

During her tenure, the FTC has blocked dozens of mergers, worked to ban non-compete clauses in employment contracts, and launched broad antitrust lawsuits against Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Meta (META), Google (GOOGL), and Microsoft (MSFT). While many in the business community have long called for Khan’s ouster, she also drew peculiar bipartisan support. JD Vance had earlier announced his support for her initiatives, stating she has done “a pretty good job,” lauding the Commission’s work attempting to break up large tech companies.

Consequences of Andrew Ferguson’s Appointment

While chosen to lead the FTC under Donald Trump, Andrew Ferguson was initially nominated by President Joe Biden as one of his few Republican appointees. Having worked alongside Lina Khan, Ferguson represents a similarly staunch antitrust advocate who is likely to push for breakups within Big Tech.

In the hours after Andrew Ferguson’s appointment was announced, Tech stocks remained largely stagnant, an indicator that markets are skeptical of widespread change in the sector from a new FTC administration.

Market Outlook

On October 30, 2022, OpenAI announced the launch of an experimental Chatbot called ChatGPT, reshaping the tech and business landscape and triggering a boom in AI utilization. Microsoft, Meta, Google, and Apple have heavily invested in artificial intelligence programs to enormous success, as their stock prices have each risen by over 65% in the last two years. With a rapidly evolving AI landscape and massive capital investments required, big tech companies are uniquely suited to take advantage. Using the TipRanks Stock Comparison tool, we see that Wall Street Analyst Consensus considers Meta, Amazon, and Google a strong buy, with Apple a moderate buy. With strong sentiment that these companies will lead the AI revolution, few believe these antitrust lawsuits will truly amount to meaningful consequences.

Conclusion

While a Donald Trump presidency is expected to bring widespread change, Andrew Ferguson’s appointment to Chair of the Federal Trade Commission will bring an antitrust sentiment nearly identical to the current administration. Despite lawsuits against many of Tech’s largest and most powerful companies that are expected to drag long into the future, few expect systemic change within the industry. And with AI’s revolutionary impact on global markets, Silicon Valley’s giants see no limit to their growth in years to come.