Senate Republicans See Straightforward Confirmation for FTC Nominee

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told us Thursday he would move “expeditiously” on a vote for Meador, who had a confirmation hearing Tuesday. Sens. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., agreed the Meador confirmation should be straightforward, given Republican control.

Some Democrats told us they will oppose Meador’s confirmation, in part because they don’t believe he will defend the agency's independence in light of the Trump administration’s desire to reverse Humphrey’s Executor (see 2502200060).

The FTC has two pending privacy proceedings. The commission under Chair Lina Khan launched a potential comprehensive privacy rulemaking in August 2022. Khan’s commission also finalized rules for the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), but those are in limbo after the Trump administration halted all pending rulemaking under a regulatory freeze (see 2501230053). FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson could potentially act on those items once Meador secures his Republican majority. He expressed interest in amending the COPPA rules when he voted in favor of the final proposal as a commissioner.

Ferguson was nominated to the commission in July 2023 and confirmed by the full Senate about eight months later, in March 2024. Confirmation of Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya took about four months, in 2022. Ferguson said during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee that Congress, not the FTC, should be writing privacy rules for interstate commerce. It’s an area that “cries out for congressional intervention,” he said. Some have speculated that the Trump administration will end the prior administration’s potential comprehensive privacy rulemaking.

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said he will oppose all Republican nominees for various reasons, including privacy concerns about Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he’s leaning toward opposing Meador. “Unless I hear that he is in favor of the independence of the FTC, as opposed to the unitarian executive policy of the Trump administration, I have no confidence that he’ll uphold the impartiality and objectivity of the FTC,” said Blumenthal. Republicans don’t need Democratic support to confirm Meador.

Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us she’s “pretty sure Meador believes in the FTC.” However, Cantwell wants more clarity about his stance on the agency’s Section 13(b) civil monetary relief authority, which the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated.

Sen. Ben Ray Lujuan, D-N.M., said he was disappointed about Meador’s “non-answers” on Humphrey’s Executor. The lawmaker hoped Meador would comment after Ferguson made clear he supports DOJ in arguing for a Supreme Court reversal of Humphrey. Meador declined to address the case directly, citing ongoing litigation. The agency "should be and always has been independent, so I don’t see any reason to change that now,” Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., said. Meador told Hickenlooper during the confirmation hearing that he supports the FTC collaborating with state attorneys general on privacy enforcement.