Newly elected President Donald Trump created another stir job announcements On Tuesday, Ronald Johnson was nominated as ambassador to Mexico, selecting Andrew Ferguson as the next chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, and Kimberly Guilfoyle To become ambassador to Greece.
Ferguson, who is already one of the FTC's five commissioners, will replace Lina Khan. who became a lightning rod Sued Amazon and Meta for targeting Wall Street and Silicon Valley by blocking billion-dollar corporate acquisitions and accusing them of anti-competitive behavior.
“Andrew has a proven record of standing up against Big Tech censorship and defending free speech in our great country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. History of the country.”
Tom Barrack was selected as the nominee for Ambassador to Türkiye. Barrack, a wealthy financier, met Trump in the 1980s while helping negotiate the purchase of the famous Plaza Hotel. He was accused of using his personal access to the former president to secretly promote the interests of the United Arab Emirates, but was acquitted on all counts in a federal trial in 2022.
Trump called him a “well-respected and experienced voice of reason.”
Johnson – not a Republican senator – served as ambassador to El Salvador during Trump's first administration. He has been nominated as President-elect threatened tariffs On Mexican imports and mass deportation of migrants arriving at the US-Mexico border. Johnson is also a US Army veteran and served in the Central Intelligence Agency.
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Guilfoyle is a former California prosecutor and television news personality who led fundraising for Trump's 2020 campaign and became engaged to Don Jr. in 2020. Trump called him “a close friend and ally” and praised his “sharp intellect that makes him supremely qualified.” Guilfoyle was on stage with the family on election night.
Don Jr. posted, “I am so proud of Kimberly. She loves America and she always wanted to serve the country as an ambassador. She will be an amazing leader for America First.”
Ambassadorial positions must be approved by the US Senate.
Guilfoyle said in a social media post that she was “honored to accept President Trump's nomination to serve as the next Ambassador to Greece and I look forward to gaining the support of the U.S. Senate.”
Trump also announced Tuesday that he has selected Jacob Helberg as the next Under Secretary of State for Economic Development, Energy and Environment and Dan Bishop as Deputy Director for Budget in the Office of Budget and Management.
Khan's replacement at the FTC likely means the commission will tread lightly when it comes to antitrust enforcement. The new chair is expected to appoint new directors of the FTC's antitrust and consumer protection divisions.
“These changes will make the FTC more friendly to business than in recent years, although to what extent remains to be determined,” wrote Anthony DiResta, a consumer protection lawyer at Holland & Knight, in a recent analysis.
Deals that were blocked by the Biden administration may get new life with Trump's command.
For example, the new leadership may be more open proposed merger Kroger and Albertsons, the country's two largest supermarket chains, struck a $24.6 billion deal to combine in 2022. Two judges blocked the merger Tuesday night.
The FTC filed a lawsuit in federal court earlier this year to block the merger, claiming the deal would eliminate competition, raise prices and lower wages for workers. Both companies say the merger will help them lower prices and compete against larger rivals like Walmart.
One of the judges said the FTC had shown it was likely to prevail in an administrative hearing.
Still, given widespread public concern over higher grocery prices, the Trump administration may not completely abandon the FTC's efforts to block the deal, some experts have said.
And the FTC may continue to investigate Big Tech firms for any anti-competitive behavior. Many Republican politicians have accused companies like Meta of censoring conservative views, and some officials in Trump's orbit, notably Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, have previously expressed support for Khan's investigation of Big Tech firms.