The president-elect says he will elevate Andrew Ferguson to replace Lina Khan as chair and nominate Mark Meador as a commissioner.

The merger between grocery store giants Kroger and Albertsons was halted by Judge Adrienne Nelson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon on

President-elect Donald Trump has selected Andrew Ferguson as his choice for Federal Trade Commission chair. “Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday.

Donald Trump appointed Andrew Ferguson to serve as the chair of the Federal Trade Commission, which has a major say over mergers and acquisitions.

Mr. Ferguson, a current Republican member of the agency, will replace Lina Khan, who had aggressively challenged mergers and the power of the biggest tech companies.

Ferguson is already one of the FTC’s five commissioners, which is currently made up of three Democrats and two Republicans.

Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, has also argued that the FCC can play a role in regulating content moderation.

Andrew Ferguson will replace Lina Khan as head of the Federal Trade Commission, likely ushering in a softer approach to antitrust enforcement. (Scripps News)