The Federal Trade Commission has pushed through a series of lawsuits before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday.
Newsweek sought email comment from the FTC and its outgoing chairwoman, Lina Khan, on Friday.
Why It Matters
The flurry of lawsuits before the change to a GOP administration underscore the tension within the FTC between pro-regulation Democrats and anti-regulation Republicans.
Trump nominated a Republican member of the commission, Andrew Ferguson, to lead the FTC, writing on his social media site, Truth Social, that Ferguson will be "the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country's History."
A Republican member of the FTC's ruling commission refused to attend a meeting to discuss the changes and issued a statement on the FTC website denouncing Khan, who was nominated by President Joe Biden.
What To Know
Amid furious opposition from Republican members of the FTC ruling commission, it has launched a series of lawsuits in recent weeks that cover areas from agriculture to rental property.
On Wednesday, the FTC filed a lawsuit against the John Deere tractor company, alleging that it has monopolized the repair of its tractors and "throttled the ability of farmers and independent repair providers to repair Deere equipment, leaving farmers wholly reliant upon Deere's network of authorized dealers for many key repairs."
On Thursday, the FTC filed a lawsuit against the largest apartment landlord in the U.S., Greystar Real Estate Partners, accusing it of charging tenants hundreds of millions of dollars in undeclared fees.
Newsweek sought email comment from John Deere and Greystar on Friday.
Melissa Holyoak, a Republican member of the FTC's five-member ruling commission, issued a "dissenting statement" on the FTC's website in which she denounced the recent flurry of FTC activity against U.S corporations.
"Four days before the Trump-Vance administration takes office, Chair Khan presided over a closed Commission meeting to consider and vote on multiple nonpublic law-enforcement matters," Holyoak wrote.
"I voted against holding this closed Commission meeting. And I abstained from all Commission deliberations and votes on nonpublic law-enforcement matters raised at this meeting today.
"The reason is simple—Chair Khan and the Biden-Harris Commission should be focused on facilitating an orderly transition to the Trump-Vance administration, not furthering their misguided policy objectives."
Ferguson has resisted a series of new regulations that Khan has introduced after Trump's win in the 2024 presidential election.
On November 27, he issued a dissenting opinion on a new rule creating tighter regulations for telemarketers.
"I dissent from this rulemaking not because it is bad policy, but because the time for rulemaking by the Biden-Harris FTC is over," he wrote. "The American people have roundly rejected its regulatory assault on American business."
What People Are Saying
Reason magazine wrote on Friday: "The Biden administration has come to an end not with a bang, nor a whimper—but with a frenzied rush of new regulations, lawsuits, and executive orders."
What Happens Next
Trump will be inaugurated on Monday. His administration is expected to cancel many FTC lawsuits, repeal regulations and take a more pro-business stand.
English (US) ·