So Lina Khan from the FTC is not letting monopolies happen, more than they are.
(Bloomberg) -- Major Democratic donors on Wall Street are increasingly pushing Kamala Harris’ team to replace top regulators Lina Khan and Gary Gensler if the vice president wins in November.
On calls with her staff and at fundraisers, deep-pocketed donors have repeatedly named Khan, chair of the Federal Trade Commission, as impeding the technology sector and other lucrative parts of the economy, according to people familiar with the matter. The private conversations about having her replaced have intensified since public calls for her ouster in July from Barry Diller, chairman of IAC Inc., and LinkedIn Corp. co-founder Reid Hoffman, who said Khan was “waging war on American business.”
Khan, 35, was appointed by President Biden in 2021 and is a favorite of progressive Democrats like Elizabeth Warren, who called her appointment “tremendous news.” Her time at the FTC has frustrated dealmakers from San Francisco to New York, who have experienced a relative drought of activity in recent years.
Democratic donors on Wall Street will likely keep lobbying in private for Khan to be replaced, some of the people said. However, it’s unlikely any of them are withholding contributions based on her fate at the FTC, and no clear communication has been given to donors about Harris’ position on Khan, they stressed.
Meanwhile, Gensler, whose term as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission is up in 2026, is disliked privately by both Democratic and Republican donors, some of the people said. Gensler has pushed for tougher regulations, but donors have particularly bristled at what they perceive as him talking down to Wall Street, the people said.
Billionaire Mark Cuban, a supporter of Harris, told CNBC this week that the SEC “needs to change” and that he’s asked the vice president’s team to “put my name in for the SEC.” Donald Trump pledged at a crypto conference that if elected he would fire Gensler.
The Harris campaign didn’t provide a comment for this story.
Douglas Farrar, an FTC spokesman, declined to comment. A spokesperson for Gensler said in an emailed statement that the SEC’s projects “are making our capital markets more efficient, transparent and resilient.”
Tricky Position
For Harris, who’s trying to walk a fine line between attracting donors and appealing to the party’s progressive wing, the pressure to remove Khan and Gensler puts her in a tricky position. While she’s long represented Silicon Valley as senator for California and is well-versed in antitrust debates, Harris has also sought to appeal to Americans irritated by price-gouging, big corporations and Wall Street.
Antitrust lawsuits filed by the FTC under Khan’s leadership have sought to block Microsoft Corp. from buying video-game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc. and aimed to halt the $25 billion grocery-store merger of Kroger Co. and Albertsons Cos. So far, the FTC has a mixed record in stopping deals, having lost two early cases, but has had more success in recent lawsuits.
Two donors close to Harris’ campaign said the argument being presented against Khan is that the FTC’s efforts to hold up mergers are hurting the economy. The idea is that if Harris wants to project herself as pro-growth and pro-business — as she and surrogates have sought to do — Khan will need to be replaced, the people said.
Members of the FTC can only be fired in cases of “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office,” according to federal law, though the president can designate another commissioner as chair. While Khan’s term expires in September, she can remain in office until the Senate confirms a replacement. That would allow Harris to select a new FTC chair if she wins, though it can take a year or more for a nominee to make it through the confirmation process.
As for Gensler, much of the frustration on both sides of the aisle stems from the SEC’s efforts to crack down on the digital asset industry, which Gensler has described as flagrantly violating securities laws.
Check my thread on the housing crisis and how it directly relates to this!
www.thecoli.com
(Bloomberg) -- Major Democratic donors on Wall Street are increasingly pushing Kamala Harris’ team to replace top regulators Lina Khan and Gary Gensler if the vice president wins in November.
On calls with her staff and at fundraisers, deep-pocketed donors have repeatedly named Khan, chair of the Federal Trade Commission, as impeding the technology sector and other lucrative parts of the economy, according to people familiar with the matter. The private conversations about having her replaced have intensified since public calls for her ouster in July from Barry Diller, chairman of IAC Inc., and LinkedIn Corp. co-founder Reid Hoffman, who said Khan was “waging war on American business.”
Khan, 35, was appointed by President Biden in 2021 and is a favorite of progressive Democrats like Elizabeth Warren, who called her appointment “tremendous news.” Her time at the FTC has frustrated dealmakers from San Francisco to New York, who have experienced a relative drought of activity in recent years.
Democratic donors on Wall Street will likely keep lobbying in private for Khan to be replaced, some of the people said. However, it’s unlikely any of them are withholding contributions based on her fate at the FTC, and no clear communication has been given to donors about Harris’ position on Khan, they stressed.
Meanwhile, Gensler, whose term as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission is up in 2026, is disliked privately by both Democratic and Republican donors, some of the people said. Gensler has pushed for tougher regulations, but donors have particularly bristled at what they perceive as him talking down to Wall Street, the people said.
Billionaire Mark Cuban, a supporter of Harris, told CNBC this week that the SEC “needs to change” and that he’s asked the vice president’s team to “put my name in for the SEC.” Donald Trump pledged at a crypto conference that if elected he would fire Gensler.
The Harris campaign didn’t provide a comment for this story.
Douglas Farrar, an FTC spokesman, declined to comment. A spokesperson for Gensler said in an emailed statement that the SEC’s projects “are making our capital markets more efficient, transparent and resilient.”
Tricky Position
For Harris, who’s trying to walk a fine line between attracting donors and appealing to the party’s progressive wing, the pressure to remove Khan and Gensler puts her in a tricky position. While she’s long represented Silicon Valley as senator for California and is well-versed in antitrust debates, Harris has also sought to appeal to Americans irritated by price-gouging, big corporations and Wall Street.
Antitrust lawsuits filed by the FTC under Khan’s leadership have sought to block Microsoft Corp. from buying video-game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc. and aimed to halt the $25 billion grocery-store merger of Kroger Co. and Albertsons Cos. So far, the FTC has a mixed record in stopping deals, having lost two early cases, but has had more success in recent lawsuits.
Two donors close to Harris’ campaign said the argument being presented against Khan is that the FTC’s efforts to hold up mergers are hurting the economy. The idea is that if Harris wants to project herself as pro-growth and pro-business — as she and surrogates have sought to do — Khan will need to be replaced, the people said.
Members of the FTC can only be fired in cases of “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office,” according to federal law, though the president can designate another commissioner as chair. While Khan’s term expires in September, she can remain in office until the Senate confirms a replacement. That would allow Harris to select a new FTC chair if she wins, though it can take a year or more for a nominee to make it through the confirmation process.
As for Gensler, much of the frustration on both sides of the aisle stems from the SEC’s efforts to crack down on the digital asset industry, which Gensler has described as flagrantly violating securities laws.
Check my thread on the housing crisis and how it directly relates to this!
Bombshell Report On Why There Is A Housing Crisis
This is important on a Global scale I think. Watch the whole thing
www.thecoli.com
