Harris promised to be “pragmatic” — which means ditching Lina Khan at the FTC

The most active regulator in the Biden administration may soon need a job, unless the next president chooses Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan to stay in the job for another term.

As the controversial FTC chairman’s term ends on September 26, it will be up to the next president to decide whether Khan will lead the agency tasked with enforcing antitrust laws and protecting consumers for another four years. Vice President Kamala Harris promised last week before the Economic Club of Pittsburgh that if elected, she would be “pragmatic” and not “constrained by ideology” in how she governs. Given this noble promise, he must show Khan the door.

President Biden’s selection of Khan to lead the FTC was exciting. Khan, now 35, was and still is young, energetic and ideologically motivated. She is part of a critical new generation of Democrats who want to engage in trust theft by targeting big tech companies.

Khan has since led the FTC in a war against Microsoft, Meta, Google and Amazon, as well as against corporate mergers between handbag companies, hotels and grocery stores.

Khan’s most bizarre and revealing defeat came in court against Microsoft for its efforts to merge with Activision-Blizzard, the video game company behind Call of Duty. The case came amid a shift in the FTC’s focus from clear consumer harm, in line with its renewed agency mission. Khan’s FTC removed language stating that it is committed not to impede legitimate business activities in its role as a regulator.

Put simply, even if you know your corporate lawsuit is legal, Khan will force you to fight it in court.

When you watch Khan’s latest film, “60 Minutes,” this theme is at the forefront. Khan says: “We’re doing our part by enforcing the law.” She is then interrupted by Lesley Stahl, who adds, “Yes. (Companies) are afraid that if you tie them up in court, it will cost a lot of money, and they say it’s just not worth it.” Khan nods. Stahl also asks, “If someone just says, ‘I won’t go any further,’ will that be a victory?” to which Lina Khan replies, “That’s right.”

The FTC under Khan adopted the federal government’s position to reflexively oppose and antagonize all mergers, treating all market consolidation with hostility. This position is equivalent to corporate tax on mergers and acquisitions.

Candidate Harris shares Khan’s tendency to blame inflation and higher prices for gadgets and groceries on corporate misconduct. But if Harris wins the presidency, she will do so on the condition that she promises to understand the concerns of the middle class. You don’t see Harris leading a suburban campaign against Amazon Prime’s one-day delivery and Prime Day deals on TV, which is exactly what Khan is doing in his case against Amazon.

Donald Trump, if he wins in November, will certainly fire Khan, but Harris will face an uphill battle to confirm whether Khan will keep his job. Khan would have difficulty maintaining the same level of Republican good faith that she enjoyed at the beginning of the Biden administration. High-profile failures involving federal court and agency resignations, including a public rebuke of the commissioner in the Wall Street Journal, would be the highlight of the confirmation hearings and would severely erode any wavering support for Khan to continue to lead the FTC.

Before he rose to the top in antitrust enforcement, Khan was a fresh face with a hot-button coverage of how to break up Amazon. Today, she is a federal official with scorned former colleagues willing to speak out against her “disregard for the rule of law and due process,” and federal employee survey results show a dramatic drop from 87 to 49 percent on whether “senior agency officials maintain high standards of integrity.” and Integrity” at the FTC.

Khan damaged the agency’s trust and morale by simultaneously appearing on Comedy Central’s “60 Minutes” and “The Daily Show” as a media darling and anti-capitalist icon.

There is nothing “pragmatic” about Khan. That’s why she was hired – to throw the kitchen sink at corporations and test the limits of Congress’ oversight of the FTC. She did just that. If she retained Khan, Harris would betray her message of a common-sense government responsive to policy outcomes.

Biden encouraged Khan to engage in what could be called “bold, sustained experiments” in antitrust law, which ended in failure. Harris can be the new leader by correcting this mistake.

Stephen Kent is Media Director Consumer Choice Center.

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