News: Lawmakers love to run the campaign gauntlet alongside celebs.
But the latest headline-grabber to spend the week with members courting votes isn’t an Instagram influencer. It’s Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan.
Khan is scheduled to appear at an event with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) in Austin on Wednesday. Khan is also due to appear Thursday with Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) in Chicago and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) in his district. Then Khan heads to Phoenix Friday for an event with Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who’s running for Senate in Arizona.
The zig-zagging suggests candidates think Khan has appeal on the trail.
Supporters of liberals like Sanders and Pocan love an anti-corporate pugilist. Gallego, on the other hand, is running more as a moderate Democrat in a purple state.
That makes him the kind of candidate who might want to echo concerns about the FTC expressed by Silicon Valley figures who are key supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign. Instead, Gallego’s embracing Khan.
Khan’s events with lawmakers have nominal policy themes, of course. The one in Texas with Sanders and Casar is about “corporate power and worker freedom.” Krishnamoorthi and the chair will be talking about grocery prices and health care, while the topic is price gouging with Pocan.
But the timing so near the election is hard to ignore.
Khan-limbo: The FTC chair’s appearances on the road with Democrats come as her own future in Washington is in doubt. Khan’s term is up, and her hard-charging approach to the job seems to make the chances of a renomination slim no matter who holds the White House.
Khan has been a lightning rod since landing at the commission in 2021.
During her tenure, the FTC sued Meta, Amazon and other giants. Lawsuit after lawsuit has made Khan a hero not just to progressives but also to some young populist conservatives fed up with corporate power – or “Khan-servatives.”
Khan’s critics say she’s pursuing a vendetta against corporate America with fantastical interpretations of the law. Some who once supported her on Capitol Hill agree. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) told us he regretted his vote to confirm Khan.
“A thousand times no,” Wicker said when asked if he’d support Khan again. Multiple GOP senators expressed the same sentiment.
High profile: Still, Khan’s cultural caché is way up. A glossy “60 Minutes” segment profiled her just last month.
The FTC chair isn’t acting like she’s on her way out. She’s appeared with progressive Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) recently in their districts.
Rep. Joe Neguse, the assistant Democratic leader in the House, and Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) both hosted Khan in their home state of Colorado back in July at an event focused on farmers’ rights to repair their agricultural equipment.
