Billionaire Donor Wants Kamala Harris to Fire the FTC Chair
A major Democratic donor and Microsoft board member is pressuring Kamala Harris to dismiss the government’s top antitrust regulator, who has launched an aggressive crackdown on corporate power since taking office.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaking on July 13 in Portage, Michigan, on July 17, 2024. (Kyle Mazza / Anadolu via Getty Images)
As Microsoft faces intensifying federal scrutiny, one of the company’s billionaire Democratic donors is now pressuring the party’s presumptive presidential nominee Kamala Harris to fire the government’s top antitrust regulator. The consumer watchdog has been actively scrutinizing Big Tech and fighting mergers — including one between Microsoft and an AI giant the donor cofounded.
If Harris follows through with the request as president and fires Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chair Lina Khan, the move would run counter to polling from 2022 that highlights 44 percent of Americans want more regulations for Big Tech companies and other monopolies.
Harris has not yet detailed her plans for antitrust enforcement or consumer protection, and her record as California attorney general is mixed on reining in anticompetitive business practices.
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