At a congressional hearing, FTC Chair Lina Khan defended herself against GOP attacks over her alleged ethics violation and aggressive antitrust enforcement
The hearing came days after critics questioned Khan’s litigation-heavy approach ahead of House scrutiny, framing the dispute as a test of whether the FTC could sustain a more confrontational enforcement strategy. Criticism of the FTC’s court-focused strategy had already made its legal record central to the political debate.
It also extends a longer conflict over Khan’s management of the agency, following reports that Republican commissioners and some career officials felt sidelined. Earlier internal concerns about FTC leadership gave congressional attacks an institutional dimension beyond individual cases.
First-order effects
Khan and the FTC face intensified congressional scrutiny over both the chair’s conduct and the agency’s antitrust posture, requiring a public defense of their enforcement choices.
GOP critics gain a high-profile forum to challenge the legitimacy and management of the FTC’s aggressive approach to competition cases.
Second-order effects
The hearing raises the political cost of bringing difficult cases: future FTC actions are more likely to be evaluated not only on legal merits but also through the lens of the agency’s management and ethics disputes.
Businesses targeted by FTC enforcement can point to the congressional criticism as part of their broader argument that the agency’s strategy is overreaching or poorly administered.
Third-order effects
The episode points to antitrust enforcement becoming a more explicit arena of partisan oversight, where agency leadership and case-selection strategy are increasingly contested together.
If this pattern persists, the FTC’s ability to pursue novel or litigation-heavy theories may depend as much on institutional credibility and durable political support as on its statutory authority.
The trend: This is one data point in the growing politicization of U.S. antitrust enforcement, with the FTC’s legal strategy becoming inseparable from fights over agency governance and accountability.
FTC chair Lina Khan asked by Rep. Kiley if she's bringing antitrust merger cases to court that she knows she'll lose Khan: “Absolutely not” Losing on purpose? “We fight hard when we believe there is a law violation.” Won't go into details re: Microsoft loss, given active case
I have little doubt that @RepKenBuck is going to take flak from GOP House leadership for this but Rep. Buck's leadership in Congress on #antitrust and fighting Big Tech is necessary and important. “Do you know how much it costs to buy Congress? Well Big Tech does.” [video]
it's wild to see gamers discover what congress is like because some are so salty about the FTC and now they're watching a congressional hearing live and cheering on Republicans lol
Do you know how much it costs to buy Congress? Big Tech does. @Amazon, @Apple, @Google, and @Meta spent a combined $250 million to prevent Congress from breaking up their monopoly power. [video]
Very balanced: @repdarrellissa from California acknowledges the FTC does good work in some areas relevant to consumer protection, but takes issue with Lina Khan's anti-merger stance. First example: Illumina-Grail (life sciences).
House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan repeatedly cuts off FTC Chair Lina Khan as she tries to answer after he asks why the FTC is “harassing Twitter.” Khan: “Twitter's lax privacy policies allowed unauthorized users to co-opt Twitter accounts, including that of Fox News.” [video]
Jim Jordan is confronting Lina Khan about information Elon Musk filed this morning in court about how the FTC is mean. Khan's response is “I haven't read it.” Didn't lay a glove on Khan.
California Congressman @KevinKileyCA just asked Lina Khan about Judge Corley's ("a Biden appointee") decision and generally their poor track record of losing and losing, while historically the FTC used to have a high win rate in the courts. 🧵1/2
.@RepBenCline asks an important question: why Chair Khan is wasting even more resources to send FTC staff to collude with European regulators to suppress American innovation? https://www.wsj.com/...
Khan is trying hard to defend her losses saying that the FTC only brings cases where they think there was a violation of law. Problem with the logic here is Khan seemingly thinks every company is violating the law; therefore, she presses forward with bringing challenges.
1. Hello. FTC Chair Lina Khan is about to get put through the ringer by the lackeys of corporate power. But, before that happens, here are a few things small business organizations had to say about her and her work at the FTC. A thread.