FTC Requests Public Comment on US Chamber’s Recusal Proposal

The FTC will gather public comment on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s petition to change the agency’s recusal rules, the FTC said in a Federal Register notice scheduled for Tuesday publication. The commission voted 4-1 in 2021 to change its rulemaking petition procedures (see 2109150061). The changes require the agency to publish all petitions for rulemaking and solicit public comment. The U.S. Chamber filed the petition Sept. 13, raising concerns about Chair Lina Khan’s decision not to recuse herself from proceedings on Meta’s buy of Within Unlimited, despite an FTC ethics official’s recommendation that she do so (see 2309200070). The public has until Oct. 26 to comment on the petition, based on the scheduled publication. The petition seeks new rules requiring commissioners to request and receive written legal guidance from agency ethics officials and share in writing any decisions not to follow their guidance. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., repeatedly criticized Khan’s handling of the Meta recusal and decision not to publish details from the ethics official. The rules would require commissioners to recognize that impartiality concerns extend beyond financial conflicts of interest.