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The F.T.C. Chairman Who Tilted the Agency to Trump
The F.T.C. Chairman Who Tilted the Agency to Trump
Andrew Ferguson has used the Federal Trade Commission’s consumer protection mandate to investigate issues important to President Trump and his base.
By David McCabe
Dec. 8, 2025, 12:34 p.m. ET
Andrew Ferguson, the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, during a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government hearing in May. Al Drago for The New York Times
In July, Federal Trade Commission officials gathered dozens of people in a windowless auditorium to discuss a politically charged issue: allegations that doctors had misled minors and their parents about gender-affirming care. ... One young panelist said his doctors lied to him about gender transitioning, while a psychiatrist named a doctor and university medical system she claimed “deceive and exploit vulnerable and misinformed consumers.”
Gender-affirming care — which has been endorsed by mainstream medical organizations, but is the subject of fierce debate — was not an issue the F.T.C. had tackled before. But Andrew N. Ferguson, the agency’s chair who organized the invite-only event, said the workshop was an effort to protect consumers. The event was no different than actions the F.T.C. had taken against people pushing fake cancer cures and shoddy techniques for preventing Covid-19, he added in opening remarks. ... “I have heard it argued that the commission ought not to address today’s topic at all because the commission does not regulate the practice of medicine, and because the topic is politically controversial,” he said. “We are here to ensure that those who make claims about gender-affirming care are held to the same standard we apply to everyone else who engages in commerce.”
Mr. Ferguson is transforming the F.T.C., an independent agency that aims to protect consumers and police corporate power, into an enforcer of President Trump's social and political agendas, according to more than a dozen former colleagues, antitrust experts and acquaintances. With investigations and hearings that inform the country’s policies on culture war issues, critics said Mr. Ferguson was testing the agency’s regulatory limits.
Many of the agency’s chairs have mirrored the political priorities of the presidents who appointed them. But Mr. Ferguson has made his connection unusually explicit, referring to the agency as the “Trump-Vance F.T.C.” In doing so, the 39-year-old could imperil the agency’s appearance of political impartiality when bringing lawsuits, critics said, making them harder to win. Some fear Mr. Ferguson could use his regulatory might to pursue Mr. Trump’s foes or to crack down on causes important to the left.
{snip}
Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.
David McCabe is a Times reporter who covers the complex legal and policy issues created by the digital economy and new technologies.
Andrew Ferguson has used the Federal Trade Commission’s consumer protection mandate to investigate issues important to President Trump and his base.
By David McCabe
Dec. 8, 2025, 12:34 p.m. ET
Andrew Ferguson, the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, during a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government hearing in May. Al Drago for The New York Times
In July, Federal Trade Commission officials gathered dozens of people in a windowless auditorium to discuss a politically charged issue: allegations that doctors had misled minors and their parents about gender-affirming care. ... One young panelist said his doctors lied to him about gender transitioning, while a psychiatrist named a doctor and university medical system she claimed “deceive and exploit vulnerable and misinformed consumers.”
Gender-affirming care — which has been endorsed by mainstream medical organizations, but is the subject of fierce debate — was not an issue the F.T.C. had tackled before. But Andrew N. Ferguson, the agency’s chair who organized the invite-only event, said the workshop was an effort to protect consumers. The event was no different than actions the F.T.C. had taken against people pushing fake cancer cures and shoddy techniques for preventing Covid-19, he added in opening remarks. ... “I have heard it argued that the commission ought not to address today’s topic at all because the commission does not regulate the practice of medicine, and because the topic is politically controversial,” he said. “We are here to ensure that those who make claims about gender-affirming care are held to the same standard we apply to everyone else who engages in commerce.”
Mr. Ferguson is transforming the F.T.C., an independent agency that aims to protect consumers and police corporate power, into an enforcer of President Trump's social and political agendas, according to more than a dozen former colleagues, antitrust experts and acquaintances. With investigations and hearings that inform the country’s policies on culture war issues, critics said Mr. Ferguson was testing the agency’s regulatory limits.
Many of the agency’s chairs have mirrored the political priorities of the presidents who appointed them. But Mr. Ferguson has made his connection unusually explicit, referring to the agency as the “Trump-Vance F.T.C.” In doing so, the 39-year-old could imperil the agency’s appearance of political impartiality when bringing lawsuits, critics said, making them harder to win. Some fear Mr. Ferguson could use his regulatory might to pursue Mr. Trump’s foes or to crack down on causes important to the left.
{snip}
Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.
David McCabe is a Times reporter who covers the complex legal and policy issues created by the digital economy and new technologies.