WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Christine Wilson, the lone conservative commissioner on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, announced her resignation in a letter to President Joe Biden on Thursday, criticising FTC Chief Lina Khan.
In addition, Holly Vedova, director of the agency’s bureau of competition, announced her retirement after decades with the agency but did not specify when she would leave, according to a person familiar with her decision.
Vedova was appointed to lead the competition office in September 2021 as part of Khan’s attempt to reenergize antitrust enforcement.
Wilson has charged the FTC under the Biden administration of going too far in blocking mergers and prohibiting most noncompete provisions. And she has been a harsh critic of Khan’s governing approach at times.
“Knowledgeable career employees have been scorned and marginalised under (Khan’s) guidance,” she wrote to Biden.
Wilson’s exit will have no effect on the commission’s control structure. It should have five members, but without Wilson, a Republican, it would be just Khan, Rebecca Slaughter, and Alvaro Bedoya as commissioners. They are all liberals.
Mining stocks rose 2.0% as prospects of China’s reopening boosted demand. This was a theme that played out for much of the week after the country’s data indicated that economic conditions were improving.
This week, the mining index was expected to increase nearly 7%, marking its biggest weekly gain since May 2021 and outperforming other key industries. The wider STOXX 600 benchmark was expected to rise 1% this week.
