Antitrust attorney Mark Meador was confirmed as President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on a party-line vote.
Meador, who has work history at the Justice Department and the office of Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, will serve alongside Trump-appointed Republican Chairman Andrew Ferguson and Biden-appointed Republican commissioner Melissa Holyoak.
Every present Republican voted to confirm Meador, and every present Democrat voted against him.
GOP Sens. John Boozman of Arkansas, Jerry Moran of Kansas and Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma did not vote.
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Additionally, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a self-described democratic socialist who caucuses with the Democrats, did not cast a vote.
Meador’s placement on the board comes after Trump fired two Democratic commissioners — Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya — who have taken their terminations to court.
“The President wants the FTC to be a lapdog for his golfing buddies,” Bedoya said in challenging his firing, according to Axios.
“Who will Trump’s FTC work for? Will it work for the billionaires or will it work for you?”
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The two former commissioners also warned against allowing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to sensitive FTC files, saying they likely include private businesses’ sensitive data, including financial ledgers that could affect “competitive dynamics.”
The FTC’s ranks now sit at three Republicans and no Democrats. Founded by an Act of Congress and signed into statute by President Woodrow Wilson, the agency governs business competition and analyzes antitrust and other concerns.
It is the only federal agency with both consumer protection and competition jurisdiction in broad sectors of the economy, and describes itself as consumer-focused.
In recent years, Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., has drafted legislation to update the FTC’s construct to include rulemaking authority and first offense civil penalty authority.
“For too long, the FTC has been hamstrung in its ability to promulgate effective rules of the road for consumers and penalize companies that harm our friends and neighbors. [We must] ensure that the FTC has all the tools it needs to protect Americans from scam artists and bad actors in an increasingly online world,” Castor said in 2021.
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