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White House Interviews Antitrust Lawyer For Chief FTC Post

By  |  September 13, 2020

The White House recently interviewed Kevin Arquit, a partner at Kasowitz Benson Torres, as a potential candidate for Federal Trade Commission chair, two people told Politico.

Arquit is at least the second candidate interviewed by the Trump administration as a potential replacement for current FTC Chair Joseph Simons, who has fallen out of favor with some in the White House for publicly resisting President Donald Trump’s efforts to crack down on social media companies. As the head of an independent agency, Simons cannot be fired and his term isn’t set to expire until 2024.

Simons hasn’t announced any plans to leave the agency, which he has helmed since May 2017.

Mark Meadows, Trump’s chief of staff, spoke with Arquit about the FTC role, both people said. They spoke anonymously to speak candidly about the private interview process. White House officials have also spoken to Gail Slater, a lawyer for Fox Corp. who previously worked at both the FTC and the White House as an adviser on tech, telecom and cyber policy.

Full Content: Politico

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