By Brent Kendall
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday filled a long-standing vacancy at
the Federal Trade Commission, restoring a Democratic majority at
the antitrust and consumer-protection agency.
The Senate, on a 95-1 vote, confirmed nominee Terrell McSweeny
for a seat on the five-member commission, which could make it
easier for FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez to form a coalition on
enforcement matters.
The agency has been short a commissioner since its former
chairman, Jon Leibowitz, stepped down in early 2013. The White
House nominated Ms. McSweeny, a senior staffer in the Justice
Department's Antitrust Division, for the open seat last June. Her
confirmation gives Democrats a 3-2 edge at the agency.
The FTC is not considered one of Washington's highly polarized
institutions, and the commission has a history of working in a
bipartisan fashion. But observers believe a yearlong 2-2 split
between Democrats and Republicans has hampered the agency's ability
to move forward on some matters.
For example, the FTC in February deadlocked 2-2 on parts of a
closely watched civil antitrust case that was being adjudicated in
the commission's administrative proceedings. The agency ended up
dismissing much of its case against McWane Inc., a manufacturer of
iron pipe fittings.
Ms. McSweeny, 38, has been with the Justice Department since
2012, a busy period of antitrust enforcement. The department last
year brought two major merger challenges, contesting deals that
combined US Airways Group Inc. and AMR Corp. and beer makers
Anheuser-Busch InBev and Grupo Modelo. Both cases ultimately
settled, with the companies making additional concessions to win
Justice Department approval.
Before joining the department, Ms. McSweeny served in the White
House as a domestic policy adviser for Vice President Joe
Biden.
Like the Justice Department, the FTC also reviews proposed
mergers for possible threats to competition. It has been
particularly active in policing deals in the health care industry,
which has seen a wave of consolidation.
The FTC is in the early stages of reviewing a proposed merger of
the two biggest U.S. food distribution companies, Sysco Corp. and
US Foods Inc. It is also reviewing the proposed tie-up of Jos. A.
Bank Clothiers Inc. and Men's Wearhouse.
On the consumer protection front, the FTC has been active on
privacy matters and has been in the spotlight recently for its
enforcement actions against companies it believes have adopted lax
data-security protections. The commission also has been examining
the data-broker industry and is expected to release its findings in
the coming months.
Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com
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