Christine Wilson, the only Republican commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission’s three-person board, has resigned. She cited Lina Khan, Chairperson, for her “disregard for law and due process.”
“I have failed repeatedly in persuading Ms. Khan, her enablers, to do the right things.” “I refuse to give them any more legitimacy by remaining,” Wilson stated that she will soon resign as FTC commissioner.
Khan has abused the agency’s permanent bureaucracy. A suit she filed against Meta to stop Facebook’s parent company From acquiring VR company Within was dismissed by a federal judge and the deal was approved.
Despite being a permanent bureaucrat, Khan may agree with their agenda. However, the chairman is not given high marks for honesty and integrity.
Wall Street Journal
My concerns about Ms. Khan’s honesty and integrity as well as her senior FTC leaders are not unique. The Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey is completed annually by hundreds of FTC employees. 87% of FTC employees surveyed agreed that Trump’s appointees maintain high standards of honesty and integrity. This percentage is now at 49%.
Many FTC staffers are in agreement with Ms. Khan’s antitrust policy. Therefore, these survey results do not necessarily reflect disagreement with her goals. The data show staffers’ dissatisfaction with Ms. Khan’s means of pursuing her agenda, which involves dishonesty, subterfuge, and other deceitful tactics. While I don’t agree with Ms. Khan’s policy goals, I understand that elections can have serious consequences. Her willful disregard for congressionally-imposed limits on agency jurisdiction, her defiance of legal precedent, as well as her abuse of power in order to obtain desired outcomes, are my main concerns.
Wilson isn’t going to be quiet.
Many have written about Lina Khan’s efforts to rewrite federal antitrust laws as the chairman of FTC. There has been little to no discussion about Lina Khan’s disregard for the rule and due process, and her support from senior FTC officials. I have repeatedly failed to convince Ms. Khan and her enablers that they should do the right thing. I refuse to allow their efforts any legitimacy by remaining. Therefore, I will soon resign from my position as FTC commissioner.
My staff and I have spent hours trying to expose her abuses of power since Ms. Khan was confirmed in 2021. As she has consolidated power at the Office of the Chair, breaking decades’ worth of bipartisan precedents and undermining the commission structure Congress created into law, this task has been more difficult. While I tried to be transparent and allow accountability through speeches, statements, and other means, I am limited in the information that I can reveal. Many of these are legitimate but were manufactured by Ms. Khan or the Democratic majority to avoid embarrassment.
Wilson was prevented from disclosing Khan’s transgressions fully because FTC deliberations are not subject to disclosure under the law. However, Congress could force Khan to disclose her transgressions because FTC deliberations are not disclosed under the law. Khan would then be exposed for the radical, partisan hack she really is.
This is a Twitter thread by Joshua Wright, a former FTC Commissioner. It discusses what the future holds for the FTC now that there are no Republican commissioners.
A lot of talk today about Commissioner Wilson’s impending resignation from the FTC. There will be plenty to say about that I am sure. But I wanted to do a short thread on and what, if any, practical implications for the agency in the near term. Here goes: (1/x)
— Joshua Wright (@ProfWrightGMU) February 14, 2023
One important distinction is that the FTC has no resistance from Republicans and is now a partisan tool for a Democratic president.
SCOTUS distinguished the FTC from the CFPB, emphasizing the former is “balanced along partisan lines,” whereas the CFPB is not. That distinction, with three Democratic Commissioners and zero Republicans, is now illusory. (3/x)
— Joshua Wright (@ProfWrightGMU) February 14, 2023
Biden will have to find someone with an “R” to replace Wilson, but that will not matter. The “independent agency”, which continues to attack free markets and bend the law in order to pursue its agenda, will continue to do so.
