FTC's Ramirez Resigning Feb. 10

Federal Trade Commission chair Edith Ramirez said Friday that she will be resigning Feb. 10.

She joined the commission in April 2010 and has been chair since March 2013 but will be giving up the chairmanship when the new administration comes in Jan. 20.

“It has been the honor of a lifetime to lead the Federal Trade Commission and to have played a role in advancing American consumers’ ability to navigate fast-paced digital markets and promoting business competition across the economy," she said. "I thank my fellow Commissioners and all of the talented FTC staff for their support and dedicated public service during my tenure.”

An FTC spokesperson said no interim chair had been named as of Friday. Presumably there will have been by Jan. 20, when the new Administration takes over. But that will still mean that until Feb. 10 there will be one Republican commissioner, Maureen Ohlhausen, and a Democratic majority--Ramirez and Terrell McSweeny.

President-elect Donald Trump, in addition to naming the new FTC chair--either Ohlhausen or someone else--will have three seats to fill, one Democrat and two Republicans.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.