Federal Commerce Fee Chair Lina Khan’s aggressive antitrust stance in the course of the Biden administration has made her a lightning rod in Company America and amongst high Democratic Get together donors.
Now with the presidential marketing campaign in its remaining weeks, the election’s end result and the potential impression on the financial system are high of thoughts.
In a wide-ranging interview with the New York Occasions that was printed on Saturday, Khan regarded again on her tenure and was requested about what may occur if Kamala Harris wins the election.
Concerning the race for the White Home, Khan was pressed on whether or not she worries her work may get lower brief, given doubts about whether or not she may keep on within the subsequent administration.
“I can’t predict what’s going to occur in November, or after that,” she replied.
Then she was requested if she has gotten any indication that she wouldn’t be wished in a Harris administration.
“No, I believe on the contrary,” Khan mentioned. “We’ve seen the vp observe how she has been a prosecutor taking over unlawful practices by firms that had been harming owners, that had been harming sufferers, and that’s the work the FTC does as nicely.”
The Harris marketing campaign didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Some billionaire donors to the Harris marketing campaign have reportedly urged her to dump Khan and SEC Chair Gary Gensler if she wins in November.
For its half, one other Trump administration may look unfavorably on mega-mergers, particularly within the tech sector. Donald Trump’s operating mate, Sen. JD Vance, has voiced help for Khan previously.
“I don’t agree with Lina Khan on each subject, to be clear, however I believe that she’s been very sensible about attempting to go after a few of these large tech firms that monopolize what we’re allowed to say in our personal nation,” he mentioned on CBS final month.
Whereas Khan technically reached the top of her three-year time period on Wednesday, she will be able to maintain serving within the position till a substitute takes over.
Earlier within the Q&A with the Occasions, she took inventory of her document and mentioned the FTC has “racked up numerous wins,” together with a courtroom victory in a vertical merger case and a ruling in a consumer-privacy case in opposition to a knowledge dealer.
She additionally expressed skepticism concerning the argument {that a} bigger firm’s acquisition of a smaller firm can deliver extra efficiencies to the market by pairing enough monetary assets with new improvements.
Such efficiencies usually don’t materialize, Khan mentioned, including that even once they do, firms don’t move them on to shoppers if there isn’t sufficient competitors out there.
That begged the query of whether or not the post-pandemic inflation surge was fueled partly by business consolidation and anticompetitive practices.
“In case you’re not imposing antitrust, you’re permitting many years of consolidation that may create inflationary spikes extra readily, as a result of your system as a complete is much less resilient to that disruption,” Khan mentioned. “Second, a extra concentrated market, when you will have fewer gamers, is extra simply going to have the ability to coordinate to hike costs or to maintain costs excessive.”