Andrew Ferguson | |
---|---|
Chair of the Federal Trade Commission | |
Designate | |
Assuming office TBD | |
President | Donald Trump (elect) |
Succeeding | Lina Khan |
Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission | |
Assumed office April 2,2024 | |
President | Joe Biden |
Preceded by | Noah J. Phillips |
Personal details | |
Political party | Republican |
Education | University of Virginia (BA,JD) |
Andrew N. Ferguson is an American lawyer serving since 2024 as a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission,and he is expected to serve as chair after Donald Trump assumes the presidency. [1] He previously served as solicitor general of Virginia from 2022 to 2024.
Ferguson was born and raised in Harrisonburg,Virginia and the surrounding areas of Rockingham County. [2] [3] His father was an academic vice president at Bridgewater College,and his mother was a professor of accounting at James Madison University. [3]
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. [3] 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. [2]
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. [2] From 2016 to 2017,he clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. [2] 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. [2] He served as chief counsel to Mitch McConnell from 2019 until 2021. [2] In that role,he was leader McConnell's chief legal advisor and judicial confirmation strategist. [2]
In January 2022,Ferguson was selected by then attorney general of Virginia-elect Jason Miyares as the solicitor general. [4] He succeeded Michelle Kallen the following month. [5] 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. [2]
A Republican,Ferguson was nominated by U.S. president Joe Biden in July 2023 to serve as a member of the Federal Trade Commission. [6] Ferguson's nomination was reported favorably by the United States Senate Committee on Commerce,Science,and Transportation on October 18,2023,by voice vote. [7] His nomination was confirmed by the full U.S. Senate by voice vote on March 7,2024. [8]
In June 2024,Ferguson,dissented when the Commission issued a final rule banning non-compete clauses in most employment contracts. [9] [10] In August 2024,U.S. District Judge Ada Brown issued a nationwide injunction prohibiting enforcement of the rule. [11]
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. [12] [13]
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. [14] [15]
Ferguson has been chosen by Donald Trump to chair the FTC after Lina Khan. [1]
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction over federal civil antitrust law enforcement with the Department of Justice Antitrust Division. The agency is headquartered in the Federal Trade Commission Building in Washington,DC.
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In contract law,a non-compete clause,restrictive covenant,or covenant not to compete (CNC),is a clause under which one party agrees not to enter into or start a similar profession or trade in competition against another party. In the labor market,these agreements prevent workers from freely moving across employers,and weaken the bargaining leverage of workers.
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Maureen Kraemer Ohlhausen is an American lawyer who is a former Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission,a position she held from April 4,2012,to September 25,2018. On January 26,2017,President Donald Trump designated Ohlhausen to serve as Acting Chairwoman of the FTC. In January 2018,she was nominated by President Trump to a seat on the United States Court of Federal Claims. Ohlhausen withdrew her nomination for the federal judiciary in December 2018,opting instead to join Baker Botts as partner and co-chair of the firm's antitrust practice.
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