The White House officially announced yesterday that President Biden intends to nominate Lina Khan to serve as an FTC Commissioner.

Ms. Khan is currently an associate professor at Columbia Law School, where she teaches and writes about antitrust law, infrastructure industries law, and the antimonopoly tradition.  She previously served as counsel to the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law where she helped lead the Subcommittee’s investigation into digital markets.  She also served as a legal advisor at the FTC to Rohit Chopra, President Biden’s nominee for CFPB Director.

If confirmed by the Senate, Ms. Khan will fill the FTC seat vacated by former FTC Chairman Joseph Simons.  We understand that the White House is likely to seek a delay in Mr. Chopra’s confirmation as CFPB Director until Ms. Khan is confirmed to avoid the 2-1 Republican majority that would result if Mr. Chopra were to resign from the FTC before Mr. Simons’ seat is filled.

According to media reports, because Ms. Khan has been a prominent critic of Big Tech, her nomination is seen as a significant victory for progressive Democrats who believe the FTC has not done enough to police major technology platforms on antitrust and privacy issues.