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Not even a week after Kamala Harris took over as the Democratic presidential nominee, major donors are already making demands of her potential administration. Democratic backers in the business sector have called on Harris to fire Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan.
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and IAC Chairman Barry Diller, both longtime major Democratic donors, have led the charge against Khan, with the latter calling her a “dope.”
Hoffman, who has helped persuade other members of the rich and powerful to fund Democratic causes, told CNN that he is “redoubling” his support for Harris, but hopes that she will replace Khan. “Lina Khan is…a person who is not helping America,” Hoffman said. “Antitrust is fine…Waging war is not.”
Diller on Friday told CNBC he would lobby a Harris administration to drop Khan. The media mogul has said he will “donate the maximum” to Harris’s campaign and that she will beat former president Donald Trump’s “broken down ass.”
Khan is known for her strict stance on antitrust. As chair, she has taken legal action against several prominent mergers, such as Microsoft’s $69 billion deal with Activision Blizzard or Kroger’s $25 billion plan to buy Albertsons. The agency recently reached a deal with the Justice Department to carry out investigations into Microsoft, OpenAI, and chipmaker Nvidia.
Her work has won praise from progressives and critics of major companies, but made enemies of many big players in tech and on Wall Street. In September, a group of big Democratic donors called on President Joe Biden to fire Khan if he won a second term.
Khan has even won the support of some Republicans — the so-called “Khanservatives” — even if the majority of the party doesn’t like her. Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, has even said Khan is doing a “pretty good job” because of her aggressive approach to enforcement against big tech.
Khan told ABC News in May that under her leadership “the FTC has been squarely focused on making sure we’re using all of our tools and authorities to protect the American people from illegal business practices.”
“In many ways it feels like our work is just getting started,” she added, noting that “it would be an honor” to be nominated for another term as commissioner after her tenure ends in September. Khan can serve until a replacement is nominated and confirmed by the Senate, which would likely take a considerable amount of time.