New FTC Chairman Signals Change

Andrew Ferguson officially took over as Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on January 20, 2025.

The former Solicitor General for the Commonwealth of Virginia was initially sworn in as an FTC Commissioner last April after being nominated by President Biden to fill one of the FTC’s two vacant Republican seats. Chairman Ferguson’s term expires on September 25, 2030.

Before his promotion, Commissioner Ferguson was openly critical of actions taken under the prior FTC leadership. By way of example, shortly before becoming Chair, Commissioner Ferguson dissented (joined by fellow Republican Commissioner Melissa Holyoak) from the FTC’s issuance of the replacement of the 2016 Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals, declaring that it was a “senseless waste of Commission resources” for the Biden-Harris FTC to be “announcing its views on how to comply with the antitrust laws in the future. . . .”

In one of his first press releases following the effective date of his promotion, Chairman Ferguson announced an “end [to the] previous administration’s assault on the American way of life. . . .” Time will tell as to the scope of the change of direction of the FTC under his leadership and whether it will, as many of his prior statements suggested, include a return to enforcement under a more traditional approach to competition law. 

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