FTC’s Wilson Announces Plans to Resign, Citing Khan’s 'Abuses'
FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson announced Tuesday that she will “soon resign,” citing Chair Lina Khan’s “disregard for the rule of law and due process.” Wilson said she has “failed repeatedly to persuade Ms. Khan and her enablers [senior FTC staff] to do the right thing, and I refuse to give their endeavor any further hint of legitimacy by remaining.” Commissioner Noah Phillips announced his resignation from the commission in August and finished his tenure early in October.
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Wilson is the only remaining Republican on the commission, and Phillips’ successor hasn’t been named. Wilson said she and her staff since 2021 have “spent countless hours seeking to uncover [Khan’s] abuses of government power. That task has become increasingly difficult as she has consolidated power within the Office of the Chairman, breaking decades of bipartisan precedent and undermining the commission structure that Congress wrote into law.”
Khan issued a joint statement with Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya: "While we often disagreed with Commissioner Wilson, we respect her devotion to her beliefs and are grateful for her public service," they said. "We wish her well in her next endeavor." Three commissioners constitute a quorum, meaning the agency can still take official votes, despite note having a Republican member. The White House announced Slaughter's renomination Monday. Wilson in a series of tweets on Feb. 2 cited Khan’s decision not to recuse herself as judge from the agency’s in-house challenge of Meta’s purchase of Within Unlimited as an example of agency leadership flouting the rule of law and due process.