On a 69-28 vote, the U.S. Senate confirmed Lina Khan to the FTC.  Khan takes the seat of former Chairman Joseph Simons, a Republican, who left in January 2021.  Her confirmation now puts the Democrats in the majority at the FTC.

At her confirmation hearing, Khan indicated that she would take a tough position on regulating tech giants and that there were “missed opportunities” for enforcement actions against tech companies under previous administrations. She also stated that the FTC must be “much more vigilant” with respect to large acquisitions in digital markets.

The commission is now made up of Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, Acting Chair; Noah Joshua Phillips; Rohit Chopra; and Christine Wilson.  Khan should be sworn in shortly.  Chopra has been nominated as the next CFPB director but remains on the commission for now.