Khan, 35, is the youngest person to lead the FTC. As a Biden appointee, she is unlikely to remain in office once President-elect Donald Trump takes office, although her aggressive stance toward trade regulations and battles with big tech may not be not completely abandoned under the Trump administration.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz is the talk about Washington after Trump unexpectedly nominated him to head the Justice Department. But while Gaetz is undoubtedly a controversial MAGA firebrand, he is also an economic populist and a Kahn fan who has urged Trump to keep it to the FTC.

“I hope his work continues in the Trump administration,” Gaetz said. NOTUS.

Gaetz isn’t the only person in Trump’s inner circle to praise Khan. Vice President-elect JD Vance said Khan was doing a “pretty good job” in his role, later adding that he was impressed by his work targeting big tech companies while avoiding “ridiculous waking up stuff.”

A third MAGA man, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) also supports Khan, saying in 2021 that he likes him. the focus is on competition and fight against anti-competitive behavior.

Khan burst onto the antitrust scene while still a law student at Yale by writing the 2017 legal paper “The Amazon Antitrust Paradox.” She later served as legal counsel to a Judiciary subcommittee, then was nominated by President Joe Biden to join the FTC in 2021, with 21 Republican senators voting to confirm her.

Republicans have mostly praised Khan’s work fighting big tech, but have sharply criticized some of his other efforts, such as repeated attempts to block mergers. She had a three-hour hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. last Julywith GOPers primarily attacking and Democrats defending it.

Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) brought up Khan’s 0-4 record in merger trials during the hearing, asking, “Why are you losing so much?” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) called Khan a bully who shifted his agency to the left.

Speaker Jim Jordan (R-OH) accused Khan of harassing Twitter (now X) because she sent the company 12 cease-and-desist letters in 10 weeks. “It seems to be more than harassment, it almost seems like an obsession,” he said.

But Gaetz had a relatively friendly exchange with Khan over the privacy of Ring cameras, as did Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), who lamented the enormous lobbying influence of big tech.

The FTC did not respond to questions from Washington Examiner.

The question going forward will be to what extent Trump adheres to the populist wing of the Republican Party that he himself helped establish, especially with Vance as his new wingman.

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, chief economic policy adviser to John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, said he hoped Trump would leave Khan.

“I will not reappoint her,” he said. “I think that the political basis for abandoning consumer welfare standard is a huge mistake, and his record on cases is not very good. So, in terms of goals and execution, she is below average.

Gary Shapiro, CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, also hopes Khan will be replaced.

“She has been the person in government most damaging to the American economy,” he said. “It is simply deadly for business in the United States.”

Khan took on the biggest tech companies during her tenure, launching lawsuits against Google, Meta and Amazon. She also tried unsuccessfully to ban non-compete clauses and was hampered by reports of declining employee morale at the agency she runs.

But Khan’s approach does not fall neatly along ideological lines. Some of Vice President Kamala Harris’ most high-profile supporters, like billionaire Mark Cuban and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, have urged her to empty Khan if elected, and Harris remained tight-lipped on the issue on the campaign trail.

Khan therefore appears to be a good example of horseshoe theory politics, with MAGA stalwarts like Gaetz and Hawley joining progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in supporting her.

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That probably won’t be enough to save Khan, who campaigned with Democrats this cycle and was accused by Jordan of violating the Hatch Act, but that means her legacy won’t be completely undone even if she is replaced. She herself admitted as much during Thursday’s public meeting of FTC commissioners.

“I have been very grateful and appreciative of the bipartisan support for (our) work, including from Vice President-elect Vance and former Congressman Gaetz, who I understand has just been announced as future attorney general,” Khan said. said. “It will be really great that the bipartisanship around this work continues.”