Commissioner Maureen K. Ohlhausen departed the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) upon the expiration of her term on September 25th. Sworn in during 2012 as a Republican Commissioner, she later served as the Acting Chairwoman from January 2017 to May 2018 when the former Chairwoman stepped down. Upon that departure, Ohlhausen and Democrat Terrell McSweeny remained as the only two Commissioners on the five-seat Commission, the only time in the history of the agency that there were only two Commissioners—meaning that Commissioners Ohlhausen and McSweeny had to reach agreement for the FTC to take action during that period.  In May 2018, three new Commissioners (Noah Joshua Phillips, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, and Rohit Chopra) were sworn in, bringing the Commission back up to full strength.

During Ohlhausen’s tenure, her focus was on “strong enforcement of the nation’s antitrust and consumer protection laws, including the key priority of safeguarding consumer privacy and data security,” according to a press release issued by the FTC. Highlighting Ohlhausen’s accomplishments during her tenure, the FTC touted in its press release that 20 significant actions were initiated to protect consumer privacy and promote data security; 32 proposed mergers were targeted with significant competition concern, with 19 resulting in consumer protection settlements; and 138 consumer protection matters were initiated or settled resulting in settlement distributions of $300 million to 3.7 million people and $6 billion in refunds to consumers. 

One day after Ohlhausen’s departure, Christine S. Wilson was sworn in as a Commissioner. Wilson’s career focus has been competition and consumer protection law with her most recent engagement as Senior Vice President of the Legal, Regulatory & International section of Delta Air Lines. Wilson formerly served at the FTC during the George W. Bush administration as chief of staff for Chairman Tim Muris and previously was a law clerk in the Bureau of Competition. In a statement issued by the White House, Wilson was described as “an advocate against regulation for more than two decades, and believes that competition is the best way to protect consumers and the economy.”