Trump Signals Third and Fourth FTC Nominees

President Donald Trump has signaled his intent to nominate Noah Joshua Phillips and Christine Wilson to be Republican commissioners of the Federal Trade Commission.

That is his third and fourth nominations and would round out the five-member commission when acting chair Maureen Ohlhausen exits for a judgeship for which she was tapped this week by the President--her nomination was sent to the Senate Thursday (Jan. 25).

Phillips has been chief counsel to Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, advising him on consumer privacy and fraud, among other things. He is a former attorney with Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, in New York and Steptoe & Johnson in Washington. Before that he was a law clerk for Fifth Circuit Federal Appeals Court Judge Edward Prado.

Wilson has been senior VP for regulatory and international affairs for Delta Airlines. Before that she was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis. The White House was billing her as a strong advocate for "the fundamental principle that competition – not regulation – is the best protection for consumers and the strongest prescription for a healthy economy."

Wilson is no stranger to the FTC, having served as chief of staff to FTC Chairman Timothy Muris.

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.