The top Republican senator on antitrust is whispering two names into Donald Trump’s ear to replace Lina Khan as chair of the Federal Trade Commission, NOTUS has learned. But the potential picks represent two very different versions of the future of corporate power and regulation under the new Republican trifecta.
It’s very unlikely Khan would stay on as chair under a Republican administration, but there are conservatives who might continue her track record of aggressive enforcement — people her supporters think of as “Khanverts” — on the list of names being considered for her replacement, including one being pushed by Khan critic and chair of the Senate antitrust committee, Sen. Mike Lee.
Lee told NOTUS he’s had “lots of conversations with the transition team, including about the FTC” and has been pushing for either Republican FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak — who holds more traditional GOP views — or one of his former staffers, Mark Meador — who has, at times, defended Khan’s record — as her replacement.
The looming question is whether Donald Trump will pick an FTC chair who maintains Khan’s legacy of aggressive enforcement or revert to the Reagan era, free-market approach of the last four decades.
The murmurings on the future of the FTC come as finance and tech corporations are holding their breath in hopes that Khan’s time as the most aggressive regulator in decades — and the pivot toward a more populist interpretation of anticompetition law she initiated — will be put firmly in the past.
According to Lee, it’s time to end the era of “big is bad” and what he sees as an overregulation of corporate mergers and acquisitions.
But, “there is a big policy gap between these two candidates Sen. Lee is pushing,” another source who agrees with robust antitrust enforcement, granted anonymity to speak freely, told NOTUS. “Holyoak has more mainstream views, while Meador is something of a ‘Khanvert.’”
During a public meeting Thursday, Holyoak reiterated her views that under Khan’s leadership, “the current commission has made many missteps in approach to merger review and enforcement,” including “wrongfully abusing its authority.”
She added, “The current administration leadership at the FTC appears to think our default should be placing roadblocks in the way of all mergers wherever possible.” Holyoak declined to comment for this story.
Meanwhile, Meador, who also declined to comment has eyerolled Khan haters on X, “If Lina Khan said the sky was blue, these guys would find a way to disagree,” he wrote in response to one critic.
Meador — who worked as a Department of Justice antitrust attorney under the Trump administration — does have some key departures from Khan and has criticized the progressive antimonopoly movement, as well as some of Khan’s choice of cases. But he has also promoted a vision for Republicans to pivot toward proactive, pro-competition enforcement.
“I do not understand how in the year of our Lord 2024 someone can say with a straight face that users struggle to identify a connection between Big Tech abuses and market power,” he wrote on X.
Khan has been particularly aggressive toward corporate consolidation in the tech sector, part of what garnered her praise from Vice President-elect JD Vance and former Rep. Matt Gaetz. Nearly everyone NOTUS spoke with agreed that no Republican commissioner would be exactly like Khan — but there is a sharp contrast between the pre-Khan and post-Khan approaches.
The two competing ideologies on antitrust and corporate power hover above clear party lines. While Trump’s own stance on Khan’s approach to corporate power is fuzzy, some in MAGA world say Khan was the best appointment Joe Biden made.
“I hope her work continues in the Trump administration,” Gaetz told NOTUS bluntly in March.
In response to Holyoak’s latest criticism this week, Khan has pointed to Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general as an example of how the rigorous enforcement work she has spearheaded could continue in the next administration.
“I’ve been so grateful and appreciative of the bipartisan support for that work, including from Vice President-elect Vance and formerly Congressman Gaetz,” Khan said Thursday at the meeting. “It’ll be really terrific for the bipartisanship around this work to continue.”
As Bloomberg previously reported, Vance’s economic adviser, Gail Slater, is also compiling a short list for the Trump transition team that includes Meador, as well as Todd Zywicki and Alex Okuliar — and is a potential pick herself.
One antitrust expert, sharp Khan critic and Kamala Harris supporter, told NOTUS Slater is the best pick because she’s aligned with Vance’s brand of populism but would be a pivot away from Khan’s approach to mergers. The Financial Times has reported that Slater may be more partial to the “tough enforcement stance spearheaded by progressive officials,” than others on the shortlist. Slater did not respond to a request for comment.
As chair, Khan transformed the Federal Trade Commission, using long-ignored portions of federal anti-monopoly law to crack down on corporate power — making enemies of big business-aligned lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
“She has been an absolute extremist, and I think you can only go in a better direction,” Republican Rep. Garret Graves told NOTUS this week, adding that he’s “not concerned” that Trump will pick a Republican chair that is ideologically aligned with Khan. “Anybody is going to be an upgrade from the current chair. She’s a disaster.”
Antitrust advocate and fellow Khan supporter Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler admitted to NOTUS Friday that Gaetz has been good on antitrust — despite a litany of other gripes Nadler has with him — and that it could be a good sign for the future of antitrust after Gaetz’s nomination for attorney general.
“I hope her work will continue,” Nadler said. “Vance has expressed support for her. Trump himself and all the people who finance him are on the other side, so I don’t know. But maybe.”
One of his Republican colleagues on the House antitrust committee, Rep. Darrell Issa, who is of the opposite opinion on Khan, insisted to NOTUS that Vance’s and Gaetz’s support for Khan is only piecemeal — and they wouldn’t support the same regulatory scrutiny toward mergers, even if they’ve praised her other populist actions.
He shook off the idea that Trump might continue the Khan legacy — even if he picks a more aligned chair replacement. “We’re not going to have a chair that sides with two Democrats to do these things, so that means it really is going to be balanced.”
He doesn’t expect to get a chance to weigh in with the Trump team like Lee has.
“Unfortunately, we won’t hear the name and be able to opine on it — based on the earlier decisions — until it’s probably too late to opine,” Issa told NOTUS. “I mean, did you see Matt Gaetz coming?”
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Claire Heddles is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.