The following is a list of individuals who have served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) beginning in 1949. [1]
The commission is headed by five commissioners, who each serve seven-year terms. Commissioners are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. No more than three commissioners can be of the same political party. In practice, this means that two commissions are of the opposition party. However, three members of the FTC throughout its history have been without party affiliation, with the most recent independent, Pamela Jones Harbour, serving from 2003 to 2009. [2]
Portrait | Name | Party | Prior experience | Education | Term began | Term expires |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lina Khan (Chair) | Democratic | Legal scholar | Williams College (BA) Yale Law School (JD) | June 15, 2021 | September 26, 2024 | |
Rebecca Slaughter | Democratic | Legal advisor to Senator Chuck Schumer | Yale University (BA) | May 2, 2018 | September 26, 2029 | |
Alvaro Bedoya | Democratic | Director of the Center on Privacy and Technology at the Georgetown University Law Center | Harvard College (BA) Yale Law School (JD) | May 16, 2022 | September 26, 2026 | |
Melissa Holyoak | Republican | Solicitor general of Utah | University of Utah (BA) University of Utah (JD) | March 25, 2024 | September 26, 2025 | |
Andrew Ferguson | Republican | Solicitor general of the Commonwealth of Virginia | University of Virginia (BA) University of Virginia (JD) | April 2, 2024 | September 26, 2030 |
The following is a list of individuals who have served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) beginning in 1949, including party affiliation. [1]
Commissioners | Party | Years in office | Prior experience |
---|---|---|---|
John J. Carson | Republican [3] | September 28, 1948 – March 31, 1953 | Journalist, The Baltimore Sun [4] |
Stephen J. Spingarn | Democratic | October 25, 1950 – September 25, 1953 | Assistant General Counsel, Department of the Treasury [5] |
Caspar Weinberger | Republican | December 31, 1969 – August 6, 1970 | California State Assemblyman for the 21st district [6] |
Philip Elman | Independent | April 21, 1961 – October 18, 1970 | Assistant to the Solicitor General [7] |
Miles Kirkpatrick | Republican | September 14, 1970 – February 20, 1973 | Head of the Antitrust Section, American Bar Association (ABA) [8] |
Everette MacIntyre | Democratic | September 26, 1961 – August 30, 1973 | FTC trial lawyer [9] |
Mary Gardiner Jones | Republican [10] | October 29, 1964 – November 2, 1973 | Staff attorney, DOJ Antitrust Division [11] |
David S. Dennison Jr. | Republican | October 18, 1970 – December 31, 1973 | Congressman from Ohio's 11th district [12] |
Mayo J. Thompson | Democratic | July 8, 1973 – September 26, 1975 | Antitrust attorney in private practice [13] |
Lewis A. Engman | Democratic | February 20, 1973 – December 31, 1975 | Assistant Director, White House Domestic Council [14] |
Calvin J. Collier | Republican | March 24, 1976 – December 31, 1977 | Director of Urban Program Coordination, Department of Housing and Urban Development [15] |
Stephen A. Nye | Republican | May 5, 1974 – May 5, 1978 | Partner at Sullivan, Jones and Archer LLP [16] |
Elizabeth Hanford Dole | Democratic (1973-1975) Republican (1975-1979) [17] | December 4, 1973 – March 9, 1979 | Director, White House Office of Consumer Affairs [18] |
Paul Rand Dixon | Democratic | March 21, 1961 – September 25, 1981 | FTC trial attorney [19] |
David A. Clanton | Republican | August 26, 1975 – October 14, 1983 | Minority Staff Counsel, Senate Committee on Commerce [20] |
Michael Pertschuk | Democratic | April 21, 1977 – October 15, 1984 | Chief Counsel, Senate Committee on Commerce [21] |
George W. Douglas | Democratic | December 27, 1982 – September 18, 1985 | President, Southwest Econometrics Inc. (private economic research firm) [22] |
James C. Miller III | Republican | September 30, 1981 – October 5, 1985 | Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) [23] |
Patricia P. Bailey | Republican | October 29, 1979 – May 15, 1988 | Assistant to the General Counsel, Merit Systems Protection Board [24] |
Daniel Oliver | Republican | April 21, 1986 – August 10, 1989 | Executive Editor, National Review [25] |
Terry Calvani | Republican | November 18, 1983 – September 25, 1990 | Law professor, Vanderbilt University School of Law [26] |
Andrew Strenio | Democratic | March 17, 1986 – July 15, 1991 | Member, Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) [27] |
Deborah K. Owen | Republican | October 25, 1989 – August 26, 1994 | Associate White House Counsel [28] |
Dennis A. Yao | Democratic | July 16, 1991 – August 31, 1994 | Professor, Wharton School of Business [29] |
Christine A. Varney | Democratic | October 17, 1994 – August 5, 1997 | White House Cabinet Secretary [30] |
Janet D. Steiger | Republican | August 11, 1989 – September 28, 1997 | Chair of the Postal Rate Commission [31] |
Roscoe B. Starek III | Republican | November 19, 1990 – December 18, 1997 | Deputy Director of Presidential Personnel [32] |
Mary Azcuenaga | Independent | November 27, 1984 – June 3, 1998 | FTC Assistant General Counsel [33] |
Robert Pitofsky | Democratic | June 29, 1978 – April 30, 1981 April 11, 1995 – May 31, 2001 | Director, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection [34] |
Sheila F. Anthony | Democratic | September 30, 1997 – August 1, 2003 | Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs [35] |
Timothy Muris | Republican | June 4, 2001 – August 15, 2004 | Law professor, GMU School of Law [36] |
Mozelle W. Thompson | Democratic | December 17, 1997 – August 31, 2004 | Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Policy [37] |
Orson Swindle | Republican | December 18, 1997 – June 30, 2005 | Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Development [38] |
Thomas B. Leary | Republican | November 17, 1999 – December 31, 2005 | Assistant General Counsel, General Motors [39] |
Deborah Platt Majoras | Republican | August 16, 2004 – March 29, 2008 | Deputy Assistant Attorney General, DOJ Antitrust Division [40] |
Pamela Jones Harbour | Independent | August 4, 2003 – April 6, 2010 | Deputy Attorney General of New York [41] |
William Kovacic | Republican | January 4, 2006 – October 3, 2011 | Law professor, The George Washington University Law School [42] |
J. Thomas Rosch | Republican | January 5, 2006 - Sept 2012 | Director, FTC Bureau of Competition [43] |
Jon Leibowitz | Democratic | March 2, 2009 – March 7, 2013 | Lobbyist, Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) [44] |
Joshua D. Wright | Republican | January 11, 2013 – August 24, 2015 | Law professor, GMU Antonin Scalia Law School [45] |
Julie Brill | Democratic | April 6, 2010 – March 31, 2016 | Assistant Attorney General of Vermont for Consumer Protection and Antitrust [46] |
Edith Ramirez | Democratic | April 5, 2010 – February 10, 2017 | Vice President, LA Department of Water and Power Board of Commissioners [47] |
Terrell McSweeny | Democratic | April 28, 2014 – April 27, 2018 | Chief Counsel for Competition Policy and Intergovernmental Relations, DOJ Antitrust Division [48] |
Joseph Simons | Republican | May 1, 2018 – January 29, 2021 | Director, FTC Bureau of Competition [43] |
Rohit Chopra | Democratic | May 2, 2018 – October 12, 2021 | CFPB Assistant Director |
Noah J. Phillips | Republican | May 2, 2018 – October 14, 2022 | Counsel to Senator John Cornyn [49] |
Christine S. Wilson | Republican | September 26, 2018 – March 31, 2023 | Senior Vice President, Delta Air Lines |
The following is a list of the chairs of the Federal Trade Commission. [50]
Chair | Party | Start | End | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Joseph E. Davies [51] | Democratic | March 16, 1915 | June 30, 1916 | |
Edward N. Hurley [51] | Democratic | July 1, 1916 | January 31, 1917 | |
William J. Harris [51] | Democratic | February 1, 1917 | May 6, 1918 | |
William Byron Colver | Democratic | May 7, 1918 | June 30, 1919 | |
John Franklin Fort | Republican | July 1, 1919 | November 30, 1919 | |
Victor Murdock | Progressive | December 1, 1919 | November 30, 1920 | |
Samuel Huston Thompson | Democratic | December 1, 1920 | November 30, 1921 | |
Nelson B. Gaskill | Republican | December 1, 1921 | November 30, 1922 | |
Victor Murdock | Progressive | December 1, 1922 | November 30, 1923 | |
Samuel Huston Thompson | Democratic | December 1, 1923 | November 30, 1924 | |
Vernon W. Van Fleet | Republican | December 1, 1924 | November 30, 1925 | |
John F. Nugent | Democratic | December 1, 1925 | November 30, 1926 | |
Charles W. Hunt | Republican | December 1, 1926 | November 30, 1927 | |
William E. Humphrey | Republican | December 1, 1927 | November 30, 1928 | |
Abram F. Myers | Republican | December 1, 1928 | January 15, 1929 | |
Edgar A. McCulloch | Democratic | January 16, 1929 | November 30, 1929 | |
Garland S. Ferguson | Democratic | January 1, 1930 | December 30, 1930 | |
Charles W. Hunt | Republican | January 1, 1931 | December 31, 1931 | |
William E. Humphrey | Republican | February 1, 1932 | December 31, 1932 | |
Charles H. March | Republican | January 1, 1933 | December 31, 1933 | |
Garland S. Ferguson | Democratic | January 1, 1934 | December 31, 1934 | |
Ewin L. Davis | Democratic | January 1, 1935 | December 31, 1935 | |
Charles H. March | Republican | January 1, 1936 | December 31, 1936 | |
William Augustus Ayres | Democratic | January 1, 1937 | December 31, 1937 | |
Garland S. Ferguson | Democratic | January 1, 1938 | December 31, 1938 | |
Robert E. Freer | Republican | January 1, 1939 | December 31, 1939 | |
Ewin L. Davis | Democratic | January 1, 1940 | December 31, 1940 | |
Charles H. March | Republican | January 1, 1941 | December 31, 1941 | |
William Augustus Ayres | Democratic | January 1, 1942 | December 31, 1942 | |
Garland S. Ferguson | Democratic | January 1, 1943 | December 31, 1943 | |
Robert E. Freer | Republican | January 1, 1944 | December 31, 1944 | |
Ewin L. Davis | Democratic | January 1, 1945 | December 31, 1945 | |
William Augustus Ayres | Democratic | January 1, 1946 | December 31, 1946 | |
Garland S. Ferguson | Democratic | January 1, 1947 | December 31, 1947 | |
Robert E. Freer | Republican | January 1, 1948 | December 31, 1948 | |
Lowell B. Mason | Republican | January 1, 1949 | May 23, 1950 |
Chair | Party | Start | End | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
James M. Mead | Democratic | May 24, 1950 | March 31, 1953 | |
Edward F. Howrey | Republican | April 1, 1953 | September 12, 1955 | |
John W. Gwynne | Republican | September 12, 1955 | May 31, 1959 | |
Earl W. Kintner | Republican | June 11, 1959 | March 20, 1961 | |
Paul Rand Dixon | Democratic | March 21, 1961 | December 31, 1969 | |
Caspar Weinberger | Republican | January 1, 1970 | August 6, 1970 | |
Everette MacIntyre | Democratic | August 8, 1970 | September 14, 1970 | Acting |
Miles W. Kirkpatrick | Republican | September 15, 1970 | February 20, 1973 | |
Lewis A. Engman | Republican | February 21, 1973 | December 31, 1975 | |
Paul Rand Dixon | Democratic | January 1, 1976 | March 25, 1976 | Acting |
Calvin J. Collier | Republican | March 25, 1976 | April 20, 1977 | |
Michael Pertschuk | Democratic | April 21, 1977 | March 3, 1981 | |
David A. Clanton | Republican | March 4, 1981 | September 25, 1981 | Acting |
James C. Miller III | Republican | September 26, 1981 | October 4, 1985 | |
Terry Calvani | Republican | October 7, 1985 | April 20, 1986 | Acting |
Daniel Oliver | Republican | April 21, 1986 | August 10, 1989 | |
Janet Dempsey Steiger | Republican | August 11, 1989 | April 11, 1995 | |
Robert Pitofsky | Democratic | April 11, 1995 | May 31, 2001 | |
Timothy Muris | Republican | June 4, 2001 | August 15, 2004 | |
Deborah Platt Majoras | Republican | August 16, 2004 | March 30, 2008 | |
William Kovacic | Republican | March 31, 2008 | March 1, 2009 | Acting |
Jon Leibowitz | Democratic | March 2, 2009 | March 4, 2013 | |
Edith Ramirez | Democratic | March 4, 2013 | January 25, 2017 | |
Maureen Ohlhausen | Republican | January 25, 2017 | May 1, 2018 | Acting |
Joseph Simons | Republican | May 1, 2018 | January 21, 2021 | |
Rebecca Slaughter [52] | Democratic | January 21, 2021 | June 15, 2021 | Acting |
Lina Khan | Democratic | June 15, 2021 | present |
As of 2021, there have been:
The vast majority of FTC members have been individuals with legal backgrounds, with notable exceptions. President Ronald Reagan appointed the first two professional economists, James C. Miller III [53] and George W. Douglas, [54] to serve on the body. Dennis Yao, a Democrat who served from 1991 to 1994, held a Ph.D in economics, and Joshua D. Wright, a Republican who served from 2013 to 2015, held a both a J.D. and a Ph.D. in economics. [55]
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.
Public Citizen is an American non-profit, progressive consumer rights advocacy group, and think tank based in Washington, D.C.. It was founded in 1971 by the American activist and lawyer Ralph Nader.
Robert Pitofsky was an American lawyer and politician who was the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission of the United States from April 11, 1995, to May 31, 2001. He had previously been Dean of the Georgetown University Law Center from 1983 to 1989, and was Dean Emeritus at the time of his death.
Michael Pertschuk was an American attorney and advocate for consumer protection and public health. He served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 1977 to 1984, and served as FTC Chair from 1977 to 1981. During his tenure, Pertschuk worked to strengthen the FTC's consumer protection powers.
William Evan Kovacic is an American legal scholar who served as a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 2006 to 2011, including as its chairman from 2008 to 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Paul Rand Dixon was an American attorney and decorated World War II veteran. Dixon was a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), serving on the body from 1961 to 1981. Additionally, he served as the agency's chair from 1961 to 1969 and again briefly in 1976.
Philip Elman was an American lawyer at the United States Department of Justice and former member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Elman is best known for writing the government's brief in Brown v. Board of Education. Elman is also notable for being one of just three political independents to have ever served on the FTC.
Edith Ramirez is an American attorney who served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission from 2010 to 2017. Ramirez served as FTC Chair from 2013 to 2017, the first person of color to lead the agency.
John J. Carson was a 20th-century American politician who served in the Truman Administration as a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 1949 to 1953. A Republican who was nominated to one of the party's posts on the FTC, he nevertheless drew ire from his own party owing to his past association with a group of business cooperatives.
Mozelle Willmont Thompson is an American attorney who served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 1997 to 2004. Thompson was the second African American to serve as a member of the FTC.
Abram F. Myers was the chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from December 1, 1928 to January 15, 1929, and thereafter general counsel and board chairman of the Allied States Association of Motion Picture Exhibitors (ASAMPE) until July 1960.
Christine Smith Wilson is an American attorney and former government official. A member of the Republican Party, Wilson was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2018 to serve on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Wilson resigned from the FTC in 2023.
Thomas Barrett Leary was an American attorney who served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from November 17, 1999 until his resignation from the body December 31, 2005.
Mary Laurie Azcuenaga is an American attorney who served from 1984 to 1998 as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). As of 2017, Azcuenaga is one of just three political independents to serve on the FTC.
Roscoe Burton Starek III is an American attorney who served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 1990 to 1997.
Dennis Alden Yao is an American academic who served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 1991 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party, Yao was the first Asian American to serve on the FTC and the third career economist to serve on the body, which has generally been composed of attorneys. Yao is currently the Lawrence E. Fouraker Professor of Business Administration and Chair of the Doctoral Programs at Harvard Business School.
Andrew John Strenio, Jr., known as Andy Strenio, is a retired American attorney and author who served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 1986 to 1991. A Democrat, he previously served as a member of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), a now-defunct independent federal agency.
Alvaro Martin Bedoya is an American attorney and government official who has served on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) since 2022.
Deborah Kaye Owen is an American attorney who served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from October 25, 1989, to August 26, 1994. A member of the Republican Party, Owen served previously as an aide to President Ronald Reagan.
George Warren Douglas was an American economist who served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from December 27, 1982, until September 18, 1985. Though a member of the Democratic Party, Douglas was widely known as a conservative economist, and was known as a supporter of President Ronald Reagan's economic agenda.