(RightIsRight.co) – The only Republican member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has resigned over alleged “abuse of power” by the body’s Democrat chairwoman, Lina Khan, who President Joe Biden appointed.
In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Christine Wilson announced her resignation as one of the five FTC commissioners.
She was appointed in 2018 by President Donald Trump. Lina Khan, the current FTC chairwoman, is a Biden appointment from June 2021.
In her resignation announcement, Wilson declared she didn’t want her presence on the FTC to give further legitimacy to Khan’s abuse of power.
Khan generated partisanship controversies shortly after her appointment when GOP figures complained that she excluded Republicans from certain antitrust enforcement measures.
Wilson has been among Khan’s critics. In September 2021, she testified before the US Senate that the commission’s then-new chairperson was destroying “the FTC’s rich bipartisan tradition.”
In her WSJ article, Wilson stated it had become harder to counter Khan’s abuses as the latter “consolidated power within the Office of the Chairman” with the collaboration of “senior FTC officials.”
The outgoing commissioner emphasized Khan’s actions concerning the FTC’s challenge to Meta’s acquisition of Within, a virtual reality gaming developer.
“Before joining the FTC, Ms. Khan argued that Meta should be blocked from making any future acquisitions and wrote a report on the same issues as a congressional staffer,” Wilson wrote, as cited by The Daily Caller.
“She would now sit as a purportedly impartial judge and decide whether Meta can acquire Within. Spurning due-process considerations and federal ethics obligations, my Democratic colleagues on the commission affirmed Ms. Khan’s decision not to recuse herself,” the only Republican FTC member elaborated.
She quoted the results from the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, which in 2020 showed that showed 87% of surveyed commission employees “agreed that senior agency officials maintain high standards of honesty and integrity.”
Today, with Biden’s appointee Lina Khan as FTC chairwoman, only 49% of the employees think the same.
According to Wilson, the FTC staff is not so much concerned with Khan’s policies as they are with how she accomplishes her agenda.
“I disagree with Ms. Khan’s policy goals but understand that elections have consequences,” Wilson wrote.
“My fundamental concern with her leadership of the commission pertains to her willful disregard of congressionally imposed limits on agency jurisdiction, her defiance of legal precedent, and her abuse of power to achieve desired outcomes,” the Republican added.
Responding to Wilson’s WSJ resignation article, the FTC didn’t seek to refute her accusations against Khan.
“While we often disagreed with Commissioner Wilson, we respect her devotion to her beliefs and are grateful for her public service. We wish her well in her next endeavor,” the FTC said.
