Federal Trade Commission Faces Impending Deadlock

The Senate has confirmed Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Rohit Chopra to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. With Chopra leaving and President Biden’s replacement pick, Alvaro Bedoya, in limbo, FTC Chair Lina Khan will no longer have a Democratic majority. And with two Republican commissioners who have vocally opposed many of her ideas, Khan won’t be able to get big-ticket items like a rulemaking on privacy underway until the FTC is fully staffed again. Biden tapped Bedoya to take over Chopra’s spot at the FTC in mid-September 2021, even as other agencies still awaited fresh nominees — an indicator of how important the FTC will be for the administration’s push to promote competition in the economy. By contrast, the FCC still lacks a permanent chair and a nominee for the open fifth commissioner slot. Bedoya, a privacy expert, would be a welcome addition to the FTC for Democrats on the Hill, as they look to fund a new $1 billion privacy and data security enforcement bureau at the agency. The Senate Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the agency, has not yet announced a hearing on Bedoya’s nomination.