FTC Nominees Pledge to Heighten Antitrust Enforcement

President Obama seems to have fulfilled his campaign pledge to “reinvigorate antitrust enforcement” in his choice of two Federal Trade Commission nominees. As a presidential candidate, Obama described the Bush administration as having “what may be the weakest record of antitrust enforcement of any administration in the last half century.” Obama seeks to change that course and deliver on his campaign promise through the nominations of Julie Brill and Edith Ramirez, both Democrats, to serve as FTC commissioners. Both nominees have a wealth of experience in public service, however, each arrives at their nomination from a different path.

Brill seems tailor-made for this position, as she has been working for years as a government prosecutor fighting for pro-consumer issues throughout her career. Brill is a graduate of Princeton University and New York Law School, where she was a classmate of current FTC Chairman Jonathan Leibowitz. She earned a Root-Tilden scholarship to NYU for her commitment to public service. Most recently, Brill was the senior deputy attorney general and chief of consumer protection and antitrust for the North Carolina Department of Justice. This position followed her 20-year stint as the assistant attorney general for consumer protection and antitrust for the state of Vermont. She is the co-chairwoman of the National Association of Attorney General Privacy Working Group and Fair Credit Reporting Working Group. Also, Brill is the vice chairwoman of consumer protection committee of the American Bar Association. She has received a number of awards including the National Association of Attorneys General Privacy Subcommittee Award and Privacy International’s Brandeis Award for her work promoting consumers’ interests in privacy issues.