By Jody Godoy (Reuters) – Two individuals associated with entrepreneur Elon Musk in a bid to significantly streamline the U.S. government have commenced their roles at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. This agency is responsible for upholding antitrust laws and combating consumer fraud perpetrated by corporations.
Gavin Kliger, who played a key role in the team that arrived at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau just before a round of staff terminations in February, and Emily Bryant are representatives of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a department established by President Donald Trump with the aim of reducing the federal bureaucracy.
According to FTC spokesperson Joe Simonson, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson is in alignment with the president’s initiative to eliminate inefficiency, fraud, and exploitation within the federal government.
The arrival of these new staff members is likely to be welcomed by critics of the FTC in the business community. These critics have voiced discontent with the agency, as well as its counterpart, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, for continuing investigations initiated during President Joe Biden’s administration and have urged for a more restrained approach under Trump’s leadership.
Trump has charged Ferguson and his DOJ counterpart, Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater, with confronting the tech giants. Both have expressed concerns similar to those of their predecessors about how anticompetitive practices can negatively impact consumers and innovation. They have asserted their commitment to challenging illegal monopolies and mergers.
The specific actions that the DOGE staffers may propose at the FTC are not yet clear.
Bryant and Kliger, the latter being a computer scientist educated at Berkeley who has supported extremist groups online, joined the agency approximately three weeks after the controversial dismissal of the FTC’s two Democratic commissioners by the White House.
Thus far, the repercussions of cost-cutting measures implemented by the Trump administration at the FTC have been limited. However, an FTC attorney mentioned during a court hearing in March that resource constraints could potentially impact a consumer protection case against Amazon, a claim that the agency subsequently refuted.
The Constitution Center in Washington, where the majority of FTC employees are based, was initially slated for termination of lease, necessitating a relocation by June. Ferguson successfully lobbied for this decision to be overturned, although he acknowledged in an internal memo dated March 18 that a future move or significant office layout alteration might be necessary.
The FTC is on the verge of a legal battle against Meta Platforms, with allegations that the social media company acquired Instagram and WhatsApp to stifle emerging competition. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly engaged in discussions with White House officials, with reports suggesting Zuckerberg is urging Trump to settle the case.
(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
