Top Republicans accuse FTC chair of Hatch Act violations over 'campaign-style events' with Dems
Rep. Jim Jordan and Sen. Mike Lee are accusing FTC Chair Lina Khan of Hatch Act violations.
Top Judiciary Republicans are accusing a controversial Biden-Harris administration official of violating the Hatch Act by touring the country with Democratic politicians ahead of the pivotal November elections.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, claimed Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan could be guilty of engaging in partisan political activity in her official capacity, which is prohibited under the Hatch Act.
"According to recent reports, you appeared at a series of events in Texas, Illinois, Wisconsin and Arizona with several candidates for elected office. Media accounts described your tour as a ‘campaign gauntlet’ with the timing of your events ‘so near the election… hard to ignore,'" the lawmakers wrote in a letter sent on Monday to the chair.
"These campaign-style events create the appearance that you are using your official position to advocate for the election of certain Democrat candidates."
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The Biden-Harris FTC chair has become a fan favorite among the more progressive contingent of the Democratic Party. However, she has also become a point of contention among the coalition trying to elect Vice President Kamala Harris. While some politicians are staunch supporters of Khan and her actions against Big Tech and other industries to prevent supposedly anticompetitive behavior, a number of Harris' wealthy donors have pushed for her removal, putting the vice president in the middle.
Khan has been hyper-vigilant of business moves, not hesitating to take on players in the tech, health care and grocery industries. In fact, Jordan has characterized her wielding of the FTC against businesses as harassment regarding her actions against X, owned by billionaire Elon Musk.
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Earlier this month, she joined Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, as well as Texas labor leaders and workers, for a discussion on worker freedom.
During the same week, she was a guest in Illinois at a "fireside chat" with Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., where they discussed grocery prices and health care, among other topics.
Khan also made an apparent surprise visit to the swing state of Wisconsin, where she spoke to residents about the potential sale of a county-owned nursing home.
"We’ve been watching with some alarm as more and more mergers and consolidation mean that fewer and fewer players are coming to control important parts of the health care system," she told Wisconsinites during the visit.
However, this wasn't the only swing state the chair stopped in. She also joined Rep. Ruben Gallego in Pheonix, Arizona, to discuss rising rent prices. Gallego is notably in one of the most competitive Senate races in the country.
While all the events were billed as official business and not campaign functions, the timing, locations, topics and people involved caught the attention of both Jordan and Lee. With less than two months until the general election, the official events with Khan deserved scrutiny, according to the lawmakers.
The Republicans said, "This concern is particularly significant given your history of ignoring agency ethics advice concerning the appearance of partiality along with your subsequent dishonest testimony on the subject, and the numerous complaints from FTC staff that your mismanagement has made you the bottleneck that has prevented the FTC from successfully protecting consumers and bringing successful cases."
Jordan and Lee further requested Khan to provide all communications regarding the scheduling of the various events, as well as the funding for travel and accommodations. They also asked that she produce documents and communications regarding any guidance she was given by the FTC’s Designates Agency Ethics Official on doing public events with candidates.
The FTC declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital.
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