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FTC CHAIR RESPONDS TO CALLS FOR HER FIRING  
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David Sirota
July 26, 2024
The Lever
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_ “Monopolies not only have economic power, but use that power to
buy political power,” she tells The Lever’s David Sirota. _

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan at a Senate hearing. ,
Graeme Jennings / Pool via AP

 

_EDITOR’S NOTE: On Wednesday, billionaire tech tycoon and Democratic
donor Reed Hoffman __called on Vice President Kamala Harris_
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if she becomes president, to oust Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair
__Lina Khan_ [[link removed]]_, who’s
taken an aggressive approach to enforcing antitrust laws — and is
currently scrutinizing a merger involving two of Hoffman’s
companies. On Friday, another media tycoon __called Khan “a dope._
[[link removed]]_” Meanwhile,
presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Harris herself has
remained silent on the issue. _

_What does Khan think about all this? And what would an administrative
shake-up — by way of former President Donald Trump’s reelection
or Harris’ potential staffing changes — mean for antitrust
enforcement, consumer protection, and monopoly power in the United
States? _The Lever’s _founder and editor-in-chief David Sirota spoke
with Khan to learn her thoughts._

_This interview has been lightly edited for clarity._

DAVID SIROTA: What are things that you haven’t been able to do yet
that you want to do? 

LINA KHAN: We have a whole set of work underway that we need to see
through. We proposed a rule to ban junk fees
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that we got 60,000 comments on. We’re reviewing those, and we’ll
look to see how we can finalize that.  

We proposed a rule that would require that companies make it as easy
to cancel a subscription as it is to sign up for one. We’ve seen all
of these companies do these subscription traps where you can sign up
with one click — and then to cancel, you have to phone somebody,
but nobody ever picks up so you have to send an mail. And that really
adds up for people, right? Hundreds of dollars a month stuck in
subscriptions they want to escape. 

We have proposed and we have finalized a rule to ban noncompete
clauses
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that’s now being litigated, and we’re gonna see that litigation
through because we think it’s critical that American workers have
freedom and are not trapped in jobs through these coercive
contracts. 

So that’s just some of the work on the rulemaking front. We have a
whole bunch of cases underway right now against Amazon for illegal
monopolization and against this firm for doing an illegal roll-up of
anesthesiology practices in Texas. 

We’ve shared publicly that we’re scrutinizing pharmacy benefit
managers
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we worry they may be inflating drug costs for Americans and squeezing
independent pharmacies. So that’s all work underway that we’re
excited to see through.

SIROTA: How much of that work can be unwound if the administration
changes? We’ve been trying to talk about the stakes of all that.

KHAN: So once the rulemakings are final, you have to go through a
process if you actually want to undo it that can be challenged in
court as well. Cases, in theory, could be yanked from the courts. But
historically, cases have continued across administrations. Of course,
if somebody comes in wanting to tear it all down and undo all the
protections we’ve gotten for working people, there are ways to do
that.

SIROTA: What do you make of the Reid Hoffman comment
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about how you gotta go in the next administration?

KHAN: I mean, look, the FTC is focused on delivering for working
people and standing up for them against corporate abuse. We think
that’s good for our country, that’s good for our economy. And it
makes sure people feel free rather than bullied in the marketplace. So
I think that’s work that everybody should be able to get behind.
Unless you’re one of the monopolies or abusive corporations.

SIROTA: JD Vance has said nice things about you — do you think the
election is necessarily a pivot point for the FTC? Or in the sense of
the old paradigm of if the Republicans get in, they’ll just sort of
not want to do anything? Has that changed in your mind? 

KHAN: There’s no doubt that there is deep bipartisan agreement that
when you allow illegal monopolies to run amok, that hurts working
people. And if you want to protect working people from corporate
abuse, you need to have an aggressive and assertive FTC. 

You know, I’ve had the privilege of testifying before Congress a few
times. And each time, I’m just struck by how there is deep
bipartisan concern about how unfair methods of competition and these
coercive practices can really hurt people. It means that they’re
paying more, earning less, entrepreneurs have less of an opportunity
to compete on a level playing field, and our economy and democracy are
weaker because of that. So we’re just focused on continuing our
work. 

SIROTA: One last quick question. Are you ever surprised or did you
always expect to get the pushback?

KHAN: Look, the FTC has embedded within it a mandate to fight illegal
monopolies. We’ve long known that monopolies not only have economic
power, but use that power to buy political power. That was one of the
reasons that the lawmakers passed the antitrust laws and our founders
were deeply concerned that unlawful economic power can corrupt not
just our economy, but also our democracy. 

And so embedded within the FTC’s DNA is when it’s doing its job
standing up for consumers, workers, and small businesses against
corporate abuse, that’s going to trigger pushback.

SIROTA: Thanks so much.

KHAN: Thank you. Thanks for all your great work. Really appreciate it.

Each day, The Lever ’s staff tirelessly investigates, researches,
writes, fact-checks, and edits stories that hold the powerful
accountable in ways corporate media will not. All of that work is
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As we head deeper into a critical election year in which journalists
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If you are able, please click here now
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* monopolies
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* Anti-monopoly
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* FTC
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