Two years ago, President Joe Biden laid out his administration’s antitrust agenda, a plan he claimed would promote competition and the “welfare of workers, farmers, small businesses, startups, and consumers.” This was a quaint talking point, but it was also an admission of dramatically expanding the use of antitrust law. Now, the president’s top two antitrust enforcers, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan and Department of Justice (DOJ) Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, have waged a dangerous offensive against companies they fought against for years in the private sector – all in the name of the President’s antitrust agenda.
Despite the fact that Lina Khan and Jonathan Kanter have worked closely together to coordinate the Biden administration’s “antitrust” agenda, Khan’s extreme ideas, legal failures, and poor leadership have drawn intense media scrutiny and sharp criticism from lawmakers, while Jonathan Kanter’s own extremism has flown under the radar. On the one hand, it’s easy to understand why. Khan’s string of high-profile legal losses, hypocrisy, and statements criticizing companies for providing affordable goods have made her an easy target. However, Kanter’s radical ideas about antitrust policy are just as dangerous.
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