Ferguson testifies during Thursday's hearing. Photo: Drew Angerer/AFP via Getty Images
FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson vigorously defended his agency's work Thursday while also standing firmly with President Trump's efforts to defang the federal government and fire those perceived as enemies to his agenda.
- Ferguson testified before the House Appropriations Committee and fielded questions on everything from Trump's ousting of the two Democratic FTC commissioners to his plans for Big Tech.
Why it matters: Ferguson is in a unique position of having to defend his historically independent competition and consumer protection agency, tasked with taking on companies of all sizes, while taking pains to not appear out of step with the Trump agenda's aim to destroy the administrative state.
- Democrats pressed Ferguson on why he referred to his agency as the "Trump-Vance" FTC and what DOGE was up to at the FTC, along with how he squared cost-cutting measures with his reverence for staffers' work.
- Republicans praised Ferguson for what they see as his work "de-politicizing" the agency from its predecessor, Democrat Lina Khan, and removing its focus from developing new rules and red tape for companies.
What they're saying: "[The staff] are the lifeblood of the FTC, and we owe our success to them," Ferguson said, and reiterated why he believes the FTC exists: "We want to protect Americans when they shop for groceries, when they go to the hospital and when they speak online."
- But he also said he supports efforts to whittle down its ranks: "We also confront challenges, poor management decisions made by the previous administration that have spread our resources thin."
- "Thankfully, the measures we have taken to restore fiscal health to the FTC align with the president's directives to ensure that the agency is operating as efficiently and effectively as possible."
The intrigue: Pressed on whether DOGE staff had access to confidential business data and what they were doing at the FTC, Ferguson said they are not "given access to anything they don't have a need for."
- The two DOGE employees "helped us find contracts that we could descope or eliminate while still fulfilling our mission to the American people," Ferguson said.
The big picture: The FTC, sans Democratic commissioners, is fighting Meta in court, pursuing other antitrust cases, bringing enforcement actions against deceptive actors and enforcing transparency rules around ticketing and other markets.
- But the historically cash-strapped agency, which can struggle against major corporations and their teams of lawyers, has shed staff under Trump (though not nearly as much as other agencies), and representatives from DOGE moved into the office last month.
- What to watch: Ferguson said the FTC will work on reviewing anti-competitive regulations and enforce the recently-passed TAKE IT DOWN Act and a newer rule against "junk fees." It will also police hospital mergers and track AI being used for fraud.
- Conservatives and liberals are also stronger than ever in their common interest in Big Tech antitrust action under the Trump administration.
- That helps Ferguson to keep doing his job while other agency heads struggle harder to balance Trump and DOGE's appetite for cuts with their agency's missions.
