A question about the future of antitrust

News that Reid Hoffman, the billionaire LinkedIn co-founder and major Democratic donor, wants Vice President Kamala Harris, if she wins in November, to replace Lina Khan as chair of the F.T.C. provoked outrage on the left. Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, called it “unacceptable,” and Tim Wu, the Columbia Law School professor and former Biden antitrust official, demanded that the Harris campaign return Hoffman’s donations.

Khan is perhaps the most consequential regulator for business in the Biden administration, and her fate as F.T.C. chair underscores anxiety among Democrats about how Harris would approach antitrust policy should she become president.

A president can’t fire an F.T.C. chair at will. Per a 1935 Supreme Court case, Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, a president can only remove an F.T.C. commissioner for good cause, which excludes policy agreements.

That said, the president has the power to designate the chair among existing members. So Khan could be stripped of that role and replaced with a colleague, though that could be awkward.

The political calculus of replacing Khan is complicated. Khan’s term expires in September, though she could serve until any replacement is confirmed by the Senate. But nomination processes take time and if Republicans retake the Senate in November, that could make it difficult for a Harris administration to get a different nominee confirmed.

One wrinkle: Donald Trump’s own running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, has praised Khan as part of his anti-Big Tech stance.