GOP cries foul as FTC’s budget under Biden soars 30%

The Federal Trade Commission has seen its budget balloon 30% during the Biden Administration — and some congressional Republicans are demanding that the pay raises end, insiders told On The Money.

In the latest year, the FTC’s budget swelled by $54 million to $430 million versus $376 million in 2022.

Likewise, the DOJ Antitrust Division’s budget also rose, to $225 million from $192 million, last year.

House Republicans who grilled FTC chair Lina Khan on Thursday are calling to shrink the budget – and cite failures including this week’s rejection by a federal judge of the FTC’s bid to block the $75 billion merger of Microsoft and Activision.

“She’s not competent enough to accomplish anything,” one insider said. “What’s the point of giving her more money?”

According to a memo circulated among Judiciary Committee Members ahead of Thursday’s hearing with Lina Khan, Republicans are well aware that Khan has gotten a budget bump — and that it hasn’t done anything to help her agenda. 

“Despite Congress increasing FTC resources from $331 million in FY2020 to $430 million in FY2023 — a 30% increase from the end of the Trump Administration — the FTC’s enforcement of the antitrust and consumer protection laws has significantly declined compared to enforcement efforts under the Trump Administration,” the memo states.

The memo also notes the extra cash has done nothing to keep good people at the FTC.

“Chair Khan’s mismanagement and treatment of her staff is part of the reason why the Biden FTC is frequently unable to bring and win cases,” the memo states. “Additionally, Chair Khan also placed unqualified staff in leadership roles and abandoned the long-held consumer welfare standard in pursuit of progressive goals.”

On Thursday, Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) slammed Khan in the hearing for throwing good taxpayer money after bad by pursuing cases that have a slim chance of winning.

“Taxpayers aren’t going to take much delight in legal talent and skill that cost taxpayer dollars and end in defeat.”

“You seem to be losing quite a bit.. These are taxpayer funds,” Kiley added. “You’re spending more taxpayer money on an appeal less likely to win,” referencing Khan’s decision to appeal the Activision ruling.

As previously reported by The Post, there has been a mass exodus of disgruntled staffers who allege she is a “tyrant” with an “abusive” management style. 

These people add that Khan — a 34-year-old legal prodigy who wrote her dissertation on antitrust concerns around Amazon — has disregarded many of the career staffers and spent much less time meeting with them than previous FTC chairs.

“The surveys about personnel morale have been very discouraging,” William Kovacic, a professor at George Washington University who served as FTC chairman from 2008 to 2009, said. 

In a recent FTC survey, 36% of staff said they were motivated by FTC management in 2022 — down from 80% in 2020. Just 44% respected FTC leadership in 2022 while 83% respected leadership as of 2020, the survey adds. 

“The civil servants don’t have to love you to work hard and do their job well but it wears on them to be reminded constantly that you are so inadequate,” Kovacic adds.

Given how many staff have fled, it’s unclear where the money has gone.

Congressional overseers do not get insight into how money is allocated until several years after the fact. 

Another source noted that the FTC pays “experts” to testify in cases, which could be costly — especially if you are looking for someone to take an unpopular opinion.

But the FTC has not brought in outside counsel to help with cases to the extent previous commissions have, an insider said.