Two billionaire Harris donors want her to fire FTC Chair Lina Khan

Two billionaire backers of Vice President Harris and Democratic candidates called for FTC Chair Lina Khan to be replaced over what they see as Khan's anti-business attitude.

A pair of billionaire supporters of Vice President Harris said in interviews last week that she should consider firing Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chair Lina Khan over her efforts to oppose corporate mergers and acquisitions.

Khan has led the Biden administration's efforts to leverage antitrust law to scrutinize mergers for their competitive impact on prices paid by consumers and whether workers would face layoffs. 

The FTC has sued to block a number of high profile mergers and acquisitions during her tenure, drawing the ire of some in the business community over actions they see as hurting the ability of companies to grow.

Reid Hoffman, the billionaire co-founder of LinkedIn, said in an interview with CNN last week that "Lina Khan is… a person who is not helping America," Hoffman told CNN. "I would hope that Vice President Harris would replace her."

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He added that Khan had operated "outside the scope" of her office's authority and said, "Antitrust is fine… Waging war is not."

Hoffman, a Democratic megadonor who quickly endorsed Harris as the party's presidential nominee following President Biden's decision to withdraw from the race, told the outlet that he hasn't directly pushed for Harris to oust Khan. 

He also noted that former President Trump's vice presidential pick, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, has expressed support for Khan's criticisms of big business.

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Hoffman's LinkedIn was acquired by Microsoft for $26 billion in 2016 in a deal that the FTC reviewed but ultimately approved. 

He is currently a board member at Microsoft which saw the agency challenge its $69 billion acquisition of gaming company Activision Blizzard, a deal that ultimately went ahead after a court rejected the FTC's challenge, although the agency's appeal is pending.

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Barry Diller, chairman of IAC and Expedia, was asked in an interview with CNBC if he would join others in lobbying Harris to replace Khan as leader of the FTC and replied, "Yeah, I would. I think she's a dope."

Diller said that he will "donate the maximum" to the Harris campaign and suggested that other donors who were anxious about Biden seeking another term could come around to supporting the vice president like he had.

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The FTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Last week, FTC spokesperson Douglas Farrar told Reuters, "Chair Khan is honored to serve in the Biden Harris administration, where she has protected consumers, workers, and entrepreneurs from illegal conduct and corporate abuse."

Reuters contributed to this report.