US Chamber Weighs Next Steps After FTC Denies Most of Its FOIA Requests

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Friday it’s reviewing how to respond to the FTC’s denial of 35 of 37 Freedom of Information Act requests it filed seeking “detailed information" on “zombie voting” -- votes by then-Commissioner Rohit Chopra counted after he left the agency -- and other practices that the group believes show the agency “manipulated its rules and procedures while potentially ceding its independent agency status to political interference” (see 2111190039). The FTC argued the size and scope of the Chamber’s requests created “unreasonable hardship for the agency to process.” The FTC said the records the chamber sought in two requests are already public. “The agency’s denial of our” requests “in less than 48 hours calls into question whether the FTC ever actually reviewed each submission,” said group Chief Policy Officer Neil Bradley. The Chamber filed three more FOIA requests Thursday seeking full disclosure of documents the FTC “has no reasonable defense to deny.” Senate Republicans are eyeing legislation to ban further FTC zombie votes and make the law retroactive to the beginning of 2021 to nullify Chopra’s post-resignation votes.