Ferguson Andrew Ftc

===

SEE FTC THREE

CHAIR FTC TRUMP 2ND TERM ~ MMA

clarence clerk

mcconnell mafia liar STACK PACK TRUMP JUDGES

solic genl virginia AG disinfo bd

SEE PRICE GOUGING PEPSI WALMART

SEE CORPS BAD ACTOR COC

HESS MERGER CHEVRON

US steel japan 8 25

===

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9 26

Sep 11, 2026 Bulwark Takes

Will Sommer and Andrew Egger dig into Katie Miller’s previously undisclosed financial stake in Elon Musk’s xAI and why it may shed new light on her relentless promotion of Grok. Miller has posted hundreds of times repeatedly attacked OpenAI, Anthropic, and other AI companies while boosting Grok as the AI for “true patriots.” But the Washington Post found through White House financial disclosures that she owns roughly $1 million in xAI stock. After the Post broke the story, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson rushed to defend Katie and instead of declining to comment, Ferguson accused the Post of partisan attacks.

Stephen Miller’s Wife Has Some Explaining to Do

1 mil$ xai grok stock

-=-=

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AN GRIST 1 26

On Saturday, hours after U.S. forces in Caracas killed at least 80 people and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Donald Trump sounded less like a wartime commander than a developer surveying a newly acquired property. The country’s future, he told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort, belonged to “very large United States oil companies,” which would soon be pumping “a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground.”

The land in question includes the largest proven oil reserves on Earth — at some 300 billion barrels, roughly 17 percent of global totals. But after years of political turmoil and U.S. sanctions, Venezuela accounts for barely 1 percent of global crude production. “It’s true that they know the oil is there,” said Samantha Gross, the director of the Energy Security and Climate Initiative at the Brookings Institution. “But the aboveground risks are huge.”

Chevron is the only major U.S. firm still operating in Venezuela, after other oil giants pulled out in 2007 when former president Hugo Chávez nationalized the industry. By continuing to operate as a minority partner under the state oil company’s terms, Chevron preserved its infrastructure, personnel, and legal foothold — giving it geopolitical leverage in the ongoing tug-of-war between the United States, China, and the Maduro government. “We play a long game,” CEO Mike Wirth explained in November at a U.S.-Saudi investment summit in Washington.

Today, Chevron is uniquely positioned in the aftermath of the invasion: Its leadership and board have long orbited Republican circles, with deep ties to the Trump administration and a history of big GOP donations. “Chevron’s in [Venezuela],” Trump said on Saturday, but “they’re only there because I wanted them to be there.” The company did not respond to requests for comment.

When Trump returned to office, his administration revoked Biden-era licenses that had allowed the oil major to operate in Venezuela despite the sanctions. Though told to stop producing by April, the company made no attempt to wrap up contracts, pull out personnel, or wind down supply chains. Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin American energy program at Rice University, said in March that it appeared “Chevron is very confident it can obtain an extension.”

Behind the scenes, executives were busy meeting with Trump and top officials, spending almost $4 million on lobbying in the first half of the year to keep their Venezuelan foothold alive. In March, Wirth joined Trump in the Oval Office, hashing out how to tweak or extend Chevron’s license. The president finds Wirth’s TV appearances entertaining, regularly calling him after cable news appearances. The CEO followed that blitz up with private sit-downs with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and staffers from the National Security Council, making the case for his company’s continued presence in the country.

By July, the gamble had paid off. The administration issued a new license, letting Chevron resume operations in Venezuela. As it did so this fall, the company saw record-breaking production and earned $3.6 billion in its last reported quarter. Though Venezuela accounts for just 100,000 to 150,000 barrels daily — a sliver of Chevron’s production — that oil is heavy, the kind the company’s Gulf Coast refineries are designed to process. Having access to Venezuelan crude can help those facilities run more efficiently, increasing supplies and reducing costs.

Just before Chevron celebrated its renewed lifeline, it scored another victory: After years of wrangling with the Federal Trade Commission, it finally acquired Hess Corporation, one of the biggest independent oil producers in the United States. Last year, the agency had banned CEO John Hess from joining Chevron’s board as part of its anti-trust review, alleging that he had colluded with OPEC representatives to fix oil prices.

That victory, however, did not occur in a vacuum. The Hess family is a major donor to the Republican party and contributed more than $1 million to Trump’s first inauguration. (Chevron, for its part, donated $2 million to the president’s 2025 ceremony.) Hess — whom Trump has called “a friend of mine for a long time” — petitioned the FTC to revisit its decision. The agency later reversed course, unlocking the deal. On July 18, Chevron officially closed its $53 billion merger, and Hess took his seat on the board.

This bought Chevron’s entry into what many analysts call the decade’s most consequential oilfield, in Guyana, Venezuela’s neighbor. In 2015, Exxon Mobil announced a huge reserve off the tiny country’s shoreline. That discovery catapulted Guyana — a nation of fewer than 1 million people — into the petroleum spotlight. Hess’ 30 percent stake in the project was a key part of Chevron’s recent acquisition.

...

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AN 12 25

On Friday, a nonprofit forced the Trump administration to unseal a damning complaint lodged by the Biden-era Federal Trade Commission against Pepsi for colluding with Walmart to raise food prices across the nation. New un-redacted information claims FTC Chair Ferguson and his colleague Mark Meador (both Trump appointees) were hiding the mechanics of Pepsi’s and Wal-Mart’s price fixing.

Pepsi is a “must-have” product for grocery stores, and Walmart is also massively powerful,” reports BIG Newsletter writer Matt Stoller. Critics say Pepsi allegedly engages in price discrimination to maintain the approval of Walmart, its biggest buyer — even going so far as to police prices at smaller rival stores. And it prepares reports for Walmart showing them their pricing advantages on Pepsi products.

When the “price gap” between Wal-Mart and its tiny rivals narrow too much, Pepsi tracks where consumers were buying Pepsi products outside of Walmart. It keeps logs on stores who would “self-fund” Pepsi product discounts, nicknaming them “offenders” and then raise their stock price, forcing them to carry those costs down to their customers.

“This dynamic is why independent grocery stores are dying,” said Stoller. “… It’s led to less competition, fewer local grocery stores, and higher prices. … To the end consumer, it creates an optimal illusion. Walmart appears to be a low-cost retailer, but that’s because it induces its suppliers to push prices up at rivals.”

Much of this information was redacted by Trump officials, however, including Ferguson and Meador. Normally, when the government files an antitrust case, the complaint gets redacted to protect confidential business information. Then the corporate defendant and the government haggle over what is genuinely confidential business information and complaints are eventually unsealed with some minor blacked out phrases, and the case goes on.

“In this case, however, … Ferguson abruptly dropped the case in February after Pepsi hired well-connected lobbyists,” said Stoller. “… Ferguson ended it the day before the government was supposed to go before the judge to manage the unsealing process. And that kept the complaint redacted. With the complaint kept secret, Ferguson, and … Meador, then publicly went on the attack.”

Ferguson released a “bitter and personal” statement against Biden-era FTC Chair Lina Khan — who had brought the complaint against Pepsi — implying that she was lawless and partisan, that there was “no evidence” to support key contentions, and that Ferguson had to “clean up the Biden-Harris FTC’s mess.” Fellow commissioner Mark Meador later echoed his comments on on X.

“And that was where it was supposed to stay, secret, with mean-spirited name-calling and invective camouflaging the real secret Ferguson was trying to conceal,” said Stoller. “That secret is something we all know, but this complaint helped prove that the center of the affordability crisis in food is market power. If that got out, then Ferguson would have to litigate this case or risk deep embarrassment. So, the strategy was to handwave about that mean Lina Khan to lobbyists, while keeping the evidence secret.”

But anti-monopoly group The Institute for Local Self-Reliance filed to make the full complaint public, and Judge Jesse Matthew Furman agreed to hear ILSR’s case, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Pepsi bitterly opposed.

“Last week, Furman directed the FTC unseal the complaint. So we finally got to see what Ferguson and Meador were trying to hide,” Stoller said.

Read the full BIG report at this link

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an 8 25

New Republic reporter Timothy Noah said seven out of the ten top donors to the presidential race last year gave to Trump — and now their favored president is turning on them

“… The White House keep[ing] scorecards measuring the loyalty of 553 corporations to President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful reconciliation bill demonstrates that the relationship between private wealth and this presidential administration isn’t as happy as you might think,” said Noah.

Trump is certainly making corporations happy by “chucking health care for the poor so it can cut taxes for the rich,” said Noah, and he’s also “dismantling regulatory agencies created to check corporate power.” Trump lowering taxes and deregulation “are what oligarchs desire more than anything else,” Noah adds, which is why “people like Elon Musk, Timothy Mellon, and Miriam Adelson supported Trump in 2024.”

However, “Trump’s pathological attachment to high tariffs, his never-ending threats to destabilize the Federal Reserve, and, increasingly, his demands that corporations bend the knee are all more than these plutocrats likely bargained for,” Noah said.

IFrame Content

Even as Trump dismantles regulatory agencies legitimately created by Congress, he is introducing a new, “more chaotic regulatory regime dictated by his own whims,” said Noah. “Trump appears intent on ripping up business regulations" and “replacing them with himself.”

Consider the president allowing chip-maker Nvidia to sell AI chips to China. Trump had previously blocked those sales on national security grounds, but Noah said Trump changed his mind and allowed sales, providing Nvidia turned over 15 percent of the resultant revenues to the United States Treasury.

The Constitution does not grant a president the right to demand Invidia surrender a portion of its revenues from Chinese sales to the U.S. Treasury, said Noah, “Nor does the Constitution encourage a president to tell Goldman Sachs to fire its chief economistor Intel to fire its chief executive."

And then there’s the issue of Trump approving the merger of Nippon and U.S. Steel — provided the federal government retain a “golden share” that allows it to veto certain future actions affecting workers. Language in that agreement refers unnecessarily to Trump by name,which strikes Noah as “unsettlingly authoritarian.”

And now comes the news that Trump has loyalty “scorecards” on corporations that rank their support as “strong, moderate, or low” based on whether and how they supported passage of the Big Beautiful Bill through “social media posts, press releases, video testimonials, ads, [or] attendance at White House events.” The most obedient companies, said Noah, appear to be AT&T, Airlines for America, Cisco, Delta, DoorDash, the Steel Manufacturers Association, Uber and United.

“[I]f history is any guide, businesses don’t fight fascist corporatism; they just grope their way toward accommodating it,” writes Noah. “That’s certainly what we’re seeing thus far. Even when Trump bullies American oligarchs, they can’t see their way to judging him anything other than their guy.”

Read the full New Republic report at this link.

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MMA

Media Matters wins preliminary injunction against retaliatory FTC investigation | Media Matters for America

8 25

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CONFIRM OFF BS

FTC-Commissioner-Andrew-N-Ferguson-Overview

FTC Commissioner Andrew N. Ferguson for FTC Chairman 1 Commissioner Ferguson is the America First, pro-innovation choice for Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. Ferguson has impeccable legal credentials, proven loyalty to President Donald Trump, and a track record of standing up to Big Tech Censorship, DEI-wokeism, and the anti-business, anti-innovation agenda of the radical left. President Trump can designate Ferguson as Chairman of the FTC on Day 1 of the Trump Administration – no Senate confirmation is needed for sitting FTC Commissioners to become Chairman, and his term does not expire until 2030.

Major Accomplishments - Sued the Biden Administration to halt its lawless environmental, immigration, and gun policies. - Directed Virginia Attorney General’s efforts to bring down the Department of Homeland Security’s “Disinformation Board.” - Represented Virginia and numerous other States in a landmark antitrust suit against Google’s ad-tech monopoly. - Successfully fought to end the Biden FTC’s anti-business policy of refusing to end merger investigations early and allow firms to close their deals as soon as the FTC finds no competitive harm (“early termination”). - Oversaw the effort to confirm President Trump’s judicial nominations in the Senate, transforming the Supreme Court as well as the lower courts. Lead staffer for both the Kavanaugh and Barrett nominations. - Senate staff architect of President Trump’s two impeachment acquittal...

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// if we stop test covid we will have less of it?!

wants no evidence of economic impotence, nit even concept of plan but drill when last 2 dem admin stet records for oil?!

an 1 25

Trump's Federal Trade Commission chair began his stint at the helm of the key agency this week by shutting down requests for public comment on corporate surveillance pricing and other exploitative tactics that were a focus of the FTC under the leadership of Lina Khan.

Shortly after taking over as FTC chair earlier this week, Andrew Ferguson declared that "DEI is over" at the agency and demanded a swift vote on a motion giving him sweeping authority to "comply with President Trump's orders ending DEI across the federal government."

Meanwhile, with no such fanfare, Ferguson shuttered FTC requests for information and public comments on corporate mergers and acquisitions, "protecting workers from illegal business practices," "predatory pricing," and "surveillance pricing practices," which refer to companies' use of personal data to set individualized prices.

Democratic FTC commissioners expressed alarm over Ferguson's early actions and said they're a telling indication of his priorities.

"Andrew Ferguson could have made his first public act as chairman a motion to study the rising cost of groceries," Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya said in a statement Thursday. "He could have acted on a pending public petition from a group of wall and ceiling contractors to investigate how lawbreaking contractors can effectively rig contract competitions in the commercial construction industry."

"Chairman Ferguson could have done any number of things to actually lower the cost of living and create opportunities for American businesses and workers. He did none of them," Bedoya continued. "Instead, he canceled 'DEI.'"

Douglas Farrar, former director of the FTC's public affairs office, said it is "unthinkable that the new chair of the FTC starts his tenure by censoring small businesses facing down monopolies, and American consumers already struggling with high prices."

"The American people deserve to have a voice in government," Farrar added, "not just be dictated to by oligarchs."

IFrame Content

Ferguson defended his focus on DEI on the grounds that Trump "campaigned openly" on ending diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across the federal government.

But Bedoya noted that Trump, on the day of his inauguration, also ordered "the heads of all executive departments and agencies to deliver emergency price relief, consistent with applicable law, to the American people and increase the prosperity of the American worker."

"Chairman Ferguson seems uninterested in the challenges that regular human beings face," Bedoya said Thursday. "One of his first actions as Chairman was to quietly remove the opportunity for the public to comment on five different requests for information."

"Rather than let the American people speak to him," Bedoya added, "Chairman Ferguson shut them out."

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an 12 24

Trump's pick to lead the Federal Trade Commission vowed in his job pitch to end current chair Lina Khan's "war on mergers," a signal to an eager corporate America that the incoming administration intends to be far more lax on antitrust enforcement.

Andrew Ferguson was initially nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as a Republican commissioner on the bipartisan FTC, and his elevation to chair of the commission will not require Senate confirmation.

In a one-page document obtained by Punchbowl, Ferguson—who previously worked as chief counsel to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)—pitched himself to Trump's team as the "pro-innovation choice" with "impeccable legal credentials" and "proven loyalty" to the president-elect.

Ferguson's top agenda priority, according to the document, is to "reverse Lina Khan's anti-business agenda" by rolling back "burdensome regulations," stopping her "war on mergers," halting the agency's "attempt to become an AI regulator," and ditching "novel and legally dubious consumer protection cases."

Trump announced Ferguson as the incoming administration's FTC chair as judges in Oregon and Washington state blocked the proposed merger of Kroger and Albertsons, decisions that one antitrust advocate called a "fantastic culmination of the FTC's work to protect consumers and workers."

According to a recent report by the American Economic Liberties Project, the Biden administration "brought to trial four times as many billion-dollar merger challenges as Trump-Pence or Obama-Biden enforcers did," thanks to "strong leaders at the FTC" and the Justice Department's Antitrust Division.

In a letter to Ferguson following Trump's announcement on Tuesday, FTC Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter wrote that the document obtained and published by Punchbowl "raises questions" about his priorities at the agency mainly "because of what is not in it."

"Americans pay more for healthcare than anyone else in the developed world, yet they die younger," they wrote. "Medical bills bankrupt people. In fact, this is the main reason Americans go bankrupt. But the document does not mention the cost of healthcare or prescription medicine."

"If there was one takeaway from the election, it was that groceries are too expensive. So is gas," the commissioners continued. "Yet the document does not mention groceries, gas, or the cost of living. While you have said we're entering the 'most pro-worker administration in history,' the document does not mention labor, either. Americans are losing billions of dollars to fraud. Fraudsters are so brazen that they impersonate sitting FTC commissioners to steal money from retirees. The word 'fraud' does not appear in the document."

"The document does propose allowing more mergers, firing civil servants, and fighting something called 'the trans agenda,'" they added. "Is all of that more important than the cost of healthcare and groceries and gasoline? Or fighting fraud?"

As an FTC commissioner, Ferguson voted against rules banning anti-worker noncompete agreements and making it easier for consumers to cancel subscriptions. Ferguson was also the only FTC member to oppose an expansion of a rule to protect consumers from tech support scams that disproportionately impact older Americans.

"Andrew Ferguson is a corporate shill who opposes banning noncompetes, opposes banning junk fees, and opposes enforcing the Anti-Merger Act," said Basel Musharbash, principal attorney at Antimonopoly Counsel. "Appointing him to chair the FTC is an affront to the antitrust laws and a gift to the oligarchs and monopolies bleeding this country dry."

12 24

Trump appoints ambassadors Kimberly Guilfoyle and Tom Barrack, plus 5 more picks

ABC News on MSN.com

President-elect Donald Trump posted a flurry of announcements on Tuesday, including Kimberly Guilfoyle as ambassador to Greece and Tom Barrack as ambassador to Turkey.

no lnx

To the Trump transition, the president-elect is named Kimberly Guilfoyle

President-elect Donald Trump posted a flurry of announcements to his Truth Social account on Tuesday night, including the appointment of Kimberly Guilfoyle as the ambassador to Greece and Tom Barrack as the ambassador to Turkey.

Guilfoyle, a former fundraiser for Trump and a former host on Fox News, is currently in an established relationship with Donald Trump Jr.

In announcing her position, Trump wrote, "For many years, Kimberly has been a close friend and ally. Her extensive experience and leadership in law, media, and politics along with her sharp intellect make her supremely qualified to represent the United States, and safeguard its interests abroad."

The post also stated, "Kimberly is perfectly suited to foster strong bilateral relations with Greece, advancing our interests on issues ranging from defense cooperation to trade and economic innovation."

The 2024 Republican National Convention

Tom Barrack is Trump's longtime friend who chaired his first inaugural committee — and he was notably acquitted of federal charges accusing him of illegal foreign lobbying on behalf of the United Arab Emirates.

Barrack was charged during the first Trump administration and campaign, in 2021. During his trial, he was accused by federal prosecutors of acting as a foreign agent but failing to register between 2016 and 2018 while allegedly trying to "leverage his access" to Trump with his contacts in the UAE.

A jury found him not guilty on all charges -- which also included conspiracy, obstruction and lying to the FBI -- in November 2022.

MORE: Trump ally Tom Barrack found not guilty on foreign lobbying charges

Trump praised Barrack's acquittal at the time, saying in a statement: "Great news for our Country, Freedom, and Democracy in that businessman Tom Barrack, who should have never been charged or tried, was just acquitted of all charges."

Barrack's testimony during the trial was at times critical of Trump. He said on the witness stand that his support for Trump politically was "disastrous" for him professionally, at one point mocking Trump's understanding of the Middle East.

"This amazingly good businessman became the president of the United States who could not spell the Middle East," Barrack said.

Asked about his criticism of Trump at the time of the acquittal, Barrack told ABC News: "I'm just done with politics."

In announcing his ambassadorship to Turkey on Tuesday, Trump said that Barrack is "a well respected and experienced voice of reason."

MORE: Trump names Alina Habba counselor to the president, with other State Department roles

The president-elect also announced roles at the Federal Trade Commission. He named Andrew Ferguson as chairman and Mark Meador as commissioner.

"Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country. Sworn in as a Commissioner on April 2, 2024, he will be able to fight on behalf of the American People on Day One of my Administration," Trump wrote in his announcement.

The post continued, "Andrew will be the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country’s History."

For Meador, Trump listed a series of degrees and accomplishments in the announcement post.

MORE: Jan. 6 panel questions Donald Trump Jr.'s fiancee, GOP fundraiser Kimberly Guilfoyle

At the Office of Management and Budget, Trump announced Congressman Dan Bishop as deputy director and Ed Martin as the chief of staff.

For Bishop, he posted, "Dan has been a tireless fighter for our MAGA Movement in the House of Representatives on the Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees. Dan will implement my cost-cutting and deregulatory agenda across all Agencies, and root out the Weaponized Deep State."

"Ed is a winner who will help Make America Great Again!" he wrote for Martin.

Jacob Helberg

Lastly, Trump announced that Jacob Helberg will serve as undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment at the State Department.

In his post on Truth Social, Trump said, "In this role Jacob will be a champion of our America First Foreign Policy. He will guide State Department policy on Economic statecraft, promoting America’s Economic security and growth, and American technological dominance abroad. Jacob is a successful technology executive, has the knowledge, expertise, and pragmatism to defend America’s Economic interests abroad, and always puts AMERICA FIRST!"

Helberg is a former Democrat who went from being a little-known tech adviser to a rising star in Trump's circles, known largely as a China hawk and as a major proponent of the bill that may lead to banning TikTok in the U.S.

He’s a commissioner for the U.S.-China Economic Security Review Commission, and he helped shore support on Capitol Hill for the bill that would ban TikTok if it’s not sold from its Chinese parent company by Jan. 19, 2025.

After Biden signed the TikTok bill into law earlier this year, Helberg posted photos of himself with several powerful members of Congress, including Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, thanking them for being “truly outstanding people who can come together when our security is at stake.”

Helberg called TikTok a “Chinese weapon of war” in August, and he previously published a book titled, “The Wires of War.” The 2021 book is about tech-fueled wars shaping the world’s balance of power in the coming century, arguing that “without a firm partnership with the government, Silicon Valley is unable to protect democracy from the autocrats looking to sabotage it from Beijing to Moscow and Tehran.”

Helberg’s harsh criticism of TikTok could clash with Trump’s vow to “save” TikTok, even though Trump tried to ban the app during his first administration.

Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance “have laid out an aggressive agenda to face the twin convulsions of technological and geopolitical change, and ensure America wins the economic contests that define this century,” Helberg wrote on X after Trump announced his appointment on Tuesday.

“The State Department will play a critical role in acting on this vision," his post continued. "I look forward to earning the support of the U.S. Senate and working with @MarcoRubio to implement President Trump's agenda.”

In previous years, Helberg and his husband were "significant supporters" of Ron DeSantis and then reportedly shifted fundraising support to Nikki Haley in 2023.

By midway through the following year, however, Helberg had personally contributed $844,600 to the Trump 47 Committee, Inc. and another $1 million to the Make America Great Again, Inc. super PACs, according to filing data made available by the FEC.

===

NO TALK

Andrew N. Ferguson (born June 17, 1986) is an American attorney serving as the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission since January 2025. Ferguson has been an FTC commissioner since 2024.^[1] He previously served as solicitor general of Virginia from 2022 to 2024.

Early life and education

Ferguson was born on June 17, 1986, in Harrisonburg, Virginia,^[2] and grew up in the surrounding areas of Rockingham County.^[3][4] His father was an academic vice president at Bridgewater College, and his mother was a professor of accounting at James Madison University.^[4]

After graduating from Eastern Mennonite School in 2005, Ferguson studied history at the University of Virginia, graduating in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts with highest distinction.^[4] He then attended the William & Mary Law School for one year before transferring to the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was an articles editor of the Virginia Law Review. He graduated in 2012 with a Juris Doctor.^[3]

Legal career

After law school, Ferguson was a law clerk to judge Karen L. Henderson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He practiced antitrust law at the law firms Covington & Burling, Bancroft PLLC, and Sidley Austin, where he represented clients in private antitrust litigation and before the Federal Trade Commission and United States Department of Justice.^[3] From 2016 to 2017, he clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court.^[3]

:{Ferguson then served as chief counsel for nominations and the constitution to then chairman of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Lindsey Graham, and as senior special counsel to then-judiciary committee chairman Chuck Grassley.^[3]

He served as chief counsel to Mitch McConnell from 2019 until 2021.^[3] In that role, he was leader McConnell's chief legal advisor and judicial confirmation strategist.^[3]}:

In January 2022, Ferguson was selected by then attorney general of Virginia-elect Jason Miyares as the solicitor general.^[5] He succeeded Michelle Kallen the following month.^[6] He oversees the appellate litigation of Virginia and its agencies; represents Virginia before the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of Virginia and the federal courts of appeals; and defends Virginia's statutes and regulations from constitutional challenge.^[3]

Federal Trade Commission

Appointment

A Republican, Ferguson was nominated by U.S. president Joe Biden in July 2023 to serve as a member of the Federal Trade Commission.^[7] Ferguson's nomination was reported favorably by the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on October 18, 2023, by voice vote.^[8] His nomination was confirmed by the full U.S. Senate by voice vote on March 7, 2024.^[9]

Commissioner

In June 2024, Ferguson, dissented when the Commission issued a final rule banning non-compete clauses in most employment contracts.^[10][11] In August 2024, U.S. District Judge Ada Brown issued a nationwide injunction prohibiting enforcement of the rule.^[12]

In September 2024, Ferguson dissented when the Commission conditioned approval of the $53 billion acquisition of Hess Corporation by Chevron Corporation upon the prohibition of John B. Hess from the company's board.^[13][14]

In October 2024, Ferguson argued in a partial dissent from a disqualification motion that the removal protections provided to the commission's administrative law judges are unconstitutional.^[15][16]

Chairman

:{:{In January 2025, Ferguson was chosen by Donald Trump to chair the FTC, replacing Lina Khan, officially taking up the position following the President's inauguration.^[17] His position as chairman did not need to be confirmed by the Senate, since he was already confirmed to serve on the Commission.^[1] He has stated intentions to ease his predecessor's scrutiny of business mergers and acquisitions, while continuing critical oversight of big tech platforms.^[18]}:

In late January, 2025, the FTC under Ferguson closed public comment on surveillance pricing, a price altering tool some online retailers like Amazon have been accused of where consumers’ personal information such as location and web usage individually adjust pricing.^[19] This occurred after the FTC had found in an earlier study that companies have indeed used consumer data to adjust and target prices.^[20]}:

References

GGL 5 25

The Federalist Society

https://fedsoc.org › contributors › andrew-ferguson-1

andrew ferguson federalist society from fedsoc.org

Andrew N. Ferguson was sworn in April 2, 2024 as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission. President Joe Biden named Ferguson to a term that expires ...

Andrew Ferguson

The Federalist Society

https://fedsoc.org › contributors › andrew-ferguson

Speakers: Andrew Ferguson • Thomas Nachbar Topics: Administrative Law & Regulation • Constitution • Corporations, Securities & Antitrust

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Fireside Chat with Hon. Andrew Ferguson and Hon. Paul B ...

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Jun 20, 2024

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