Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick J.D. Vance, has openly complimented Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan’s sweeping antitrust enforcement stance, suggesting a second Trump administration may support it
On Monday, Vance, a Republican U.S. senator from Ohio, joined the presidential ticket at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Trump was officially recognized as the party’s nominee.
Vance is one of several Republican legislators, such as U.S. Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri and Florida U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz, who are referred to as “Conservatives” due to their concurrence with the FTC chair that the primary objective of U.S. antitrust law is to maintain low prices for consumers.
“She acknowledged the necessity of a more comprehensive comprehension of how we approach competition in the marketplace,” Vance stated at an event in Washington in February.
The comments indicate a tension within the conservative movement, characterized by a desire to reduce regulatory agencies and a willingness to employ antitrust laws to challenge powerful corporations, particularly in Big Tech, where some individuals aspire to address the perceived censorship of conservatives online.
According to Joseph Coniglio, the director of antitrust policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Vance is one of the latter.
“I think that picking Senator Vance as vice president certainly sends a signal in one direction,” according to Coniglio. Several significant technology companies provide funding to his think center.
It would not be a departure for Trump to scrutinize Big Tech. Investigations into Meta, Amazon, Apple, and Google regarding purported antitrust violations were initiated by the FTC and Department of Justice under Trump. Ultimately, all four organizations were sued, and they have all denied any misconduct.
Vance, a Yale-educated lawyer and venture capitalist, has assisted Trump in fundraising in Silicon Valley and has previously worked at the corporate law firm Sidley Austin. Additionally, he has advocated for the dissolution of one of its most significant corporations.
“Long overdue, but it’s time to break Google up,” Vance tweeted in February, lamenting that “monopolistic control of information in our society resides with an explicitly progressive technology corporation.” “
The prospective second Trump administration’s priorities are yet to be determined. The Project 2025 policy platform of the conservative Heritage Foundation explores the potential for antitrust enforcers to advocate for conservative causes while questioning the necessity of the FTC’s continued existence.
Business groups have criticized President Joe Biden’s antitrust enforcers for focusing on issues such as labor rather than the conventional considerations of how competition affects prices.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has filed a lawsuit to prevent the FTC from enforcing its recent prohibition on employers who mandate that their employees sign agreements not to establish competing businesses or join competitor organizations.
Vance stated at the February event, which Silicon Valley startup incubator Y Combinator hosted that his perspective on antitrust extends beyond the facilitation of competition among small businesses to the quality of consumer commodities and the treatment of workers.
He disagreed with certain conservatives’ perspective that corporations’ conduct could not be considered “tyrannical.”
“I want people to live good lives in our country,” he indicated. “I don’t care if the most threatening entity to that vision is a private or public entity.”