House lawmakers ramp up oversight of FTC amid allegations of ethics violations: ‘A disaster’

House lawmakers are seeking interviews with five top officials from the Federal Trade Commission over allegations of abuse of power and ethics violations under the leadership of Commissioner Lina M. Khan. 

In a letter to Ms. Khan, House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer requested transcribed interviews with five FTC directors, including Executive Director David Robbins and the director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, Samuel Levine.

Mr. Comer, Kentucky Republican, said the agency’s policies and guidance appear to have undermined the consumer welfare standard by intervening on behalf of favored competitors and pursuing ideological goals.

“The FTC has tilted the merger review process against businesses through unnecessarily burdensome processes, and the agency continues to collude with foreign jurisdictions to prevent lawful transactions between American companies,” Mr. Comer wrote to Ms. Khan. “We are concerned this is undermining consumers’ and others’ confidence in the commission’s ability to ensure the integrity of the American marketplace.”

Mr. Khan, a Biden appointee, has been the target of GOP criticism since her 2021 confirmation to the post. Lawmakers have questioned her enforcement of federal antitrust laws and complained she has shifted the commission far to the left, hurting small businesses by overstepping its authority, diminishing morale among FTC staff and threatening a long tradition of bipartisanship on the five-member panel. 

In a July hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, lawmakers grilled Ms. Khan about the politicization of the regulatory agency’s actions and claims of a toxic work environment at the FTC that has pushed out veteran employees. 

Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican, ripped Ms. Khan at the hearing for bypassing Congress and allegedly harassing the social media platform X with requests for information since Elon Musk’s takeover. 

He called her stewardship of the FTC “a disaster.”

Under Ms. Khan’s leadership, the FTC has taken on some of the nation’s largest companies, including Meta and Microsoft, and most recently sued Amazon, which the commission describes as “a monopolist that uses a set of interlocking anticompetitive and unfair strategies to illegally maintain its monopoly power.”

Ms. Khan told reporters if the Amazon lawsuit succeeds, it will restore competition and lower prices for consumers.

Mr. Comer acknowledged the FTC has turned over some documents requested by the Oversight panel. 
“But it has refused to provide documents in response to others and the documents the FTC has provided do not fully address the committee’s concerns,” he wrote. “As such, we are requesting you make your staff available for transcribed interviews.”