The Dark Horse for Antitrust Chief, FTC

Progressive groups have lambasted a number of potential candidates for the role of Justice Department antitrust chief over the individuals’ ties to tech companies. While some members of Congress have likewise weighed in publicly, others are working behind the scenes to persuade the Biden administration to consider their preferred candidates. A number of Democrats are rallying for Jonathan Sallet, the former FCC general counsel who successfully defended the agency’s net neutrality rules in court. Sallet also spent the final years of the Obama administration at DOJ’s antitrust division, where he helped kill the Comcast and Time Warner merger and called out concerns about vertical mergers. Over the past two years, Sallet has worked for Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser as the mastermind behind the states’ antitrust case against Google, earning plaudits from Democrats and Republicans alike. Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson (R) praised Sallet’s leadership of the states’ suit, saying he has an “excellent mind for antitrust.” [Editor's note: Sallet has been a Senior Fellow at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society since 2017.]

President Joe Biden has two open spots on the Federal Trade Commission, and some House Democrats are urging him to reserve one slot for a candidate focused on consumer protection and privacy issues. Georgetown’s Alvaro Bedoya tops many lists. Before joining Georgetown, Bedoya was chief counsel to the Senate Judiciary’s subcommittee on privacy and technology, helmed by then-Sen. Al Franken (D-MN). Born in Peru, Bedoya would also bring much-needed diversity to the FTC, where only a handful of the commissioners have been non-white.