Report: Trump considering antitrust attorney for FTC chair

President Trump is expected to pick Joseph J. Simons, an antitrust attorney, to chair the Federal Trade Commission, Politico reported on Thursday.

Simons works at the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, where he co-chairs the antitrust practice.

He served as the director of the FTC’s competition bureau during the early years of the George W. Bush administration.

{mosads}As chairman, Simons would oversee the agency’s role policing companies for deceptive and anticompetitive practices. The agency may also play a part in Amazon’s proposed acquisition of Whole Foods.

Simons has represented Mastercard, Ericsson, Sharp and a consortium of companies that included Microsoft and Sony.

If he’s nominated and confirmed, Simons would replace Maureen Ohlhausen, who Trump named as acting chairman shortly after his inauguration.

Just two seats on the five-member commission are currently filled and, according to Politico, potential nominees for the other GOP slot include Christine Wilson, a Delta Air Lines senior vice president, and Noah Phillips, Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Texas) chief counsel.

A White House spokeswoman said she could not offer any personnel updates.