Who will Trump pick as regulators? Here are the contenders
Updates Commerce section, adds cybersecurity and FCC section
Nov 8 (Reuters) - Donald Trump has begun the process of choosing a cabinet and selecting other high-ranking administration officials following his U.S. presidential election victory.
Here are some of the contenders for several posts overseeing regulation and enforcement.
Commerce Department
LINDA MCMAHON
McMahon is seen as a top contender for Commerce secretary. She served as head of the Small Business Administration in the first Trump administration and is chair of the pro-Trump America First Action super political action committee. She serves on the board of social media platform Truth Social, and is a major Trump donor.
ROBERT LIGHTHIZER
A loyalist who served as Trump's U.S. trade representative for essentially the president-elect's entire first term, Lighthizer will almost certainly be invited back. He is considered a contender for the top jobs at Treasury, the Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade Representative's office. Lighthizer is a firm believer in tariffs and was one of the leading figures in Trump's trade war with China.
VIVEK RAMASWAMY
A Republican presidential candidate until he dropped out of the race in January, Ramaswamy is a potential choice for the top job at Commerce. The multi-millionaire former biotech executive gained fame in right-wing circles thanks to his 2021 bestseller "Woke, Inc.," which decries decisions by some big companies to base business strategy around social-justice and climate-change concerns.
NAZAK NIKAKHTAR
Nikakhtar was formerly an assistant secretary and acted as under secretary for the Bureau of Industry and Security during the first Trump administration. She is being considered for a senior post at the Commerce Department, which oversees export controls that have been used by Washington in the U.S.-China tech war. She is a lawyer and currently chairs the national security practice at Wiley Rein.
Antitrust
GAIL SLATER
A policy advisor to Vice President-elect JD Vance, Slater isviewed by antitrust attorneys as a top candidate to lead the Federal Trade Commission. Slater previously advised Trump on data privacy and telecommunications, and held roles at Fox Corp FOXA.O and Roku ROKU.O. Before that, Slater was at the FTC for 10 years, including as an advisor to then-Commissioner Julie Brill, who is now an executive at Microsoft MSFT.O.
MELISSA HOLYOAK
One of the FTC's two current commissioners, Holyoak is a possible pick for acting chair. She was Utah's solicitor general, and previously led the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, a conservative non-profit law firm focused on free speech and limited government.
ANDREW FERGUSON
The other Republican on the FTC, Ferguson is another potential candidate for top antitrust roles. He was previously chief counsel to Republican Senator Mitch McConnell and clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Both Ferguson and Holyoak voted against some of the agency's initiatives under chair Lina Khan, including a rule that would make it easier to cancel subscriptions and ban non-compete agreements.
ANDREW FINCH
Finch, a former deputy in the Department of Justice's antitrust division under Trump who expressed skepticism towards "drastic calls for breaking up firms or turning tech platforms into regulated utilities," could be a contender to lead the division. Finch is a partner at Paul Weiss where he has represented Spirit Airlines SAVE.N, Uber Technologies UBER.N and Mastercard MA.N in merger reviews.
BARRY NIGRO
A former antitrust official at the DOJ and FTC and partner at Fried Frank, Nigro isanother potential candidate. Nigro handled the DOJ's review of T-Mobile US Inc's TMUS.O $26-billion takeover of Sprint Corp in 2020 and pharmacy-chain CVS Health Corp's CVS.N $69-billion acquisition of health insurer Aetna Inc.
Cybersecurity
JOSHUA STEINMAN
A protégé of former Trump National Security Adviser Gen. Michael Flynn, Steinman played a key role in the first Trump administration's aggressive stance on government hacking operations and is a contender for a senior cybersecurity position.
Federal Communications Commission
BRENDAN CARR
One of two Republican members of the Federal Communications Commission, Carr is a likely pick for acting chair of the FCC - and a potential permanent chair. He has been a supporter of Elon Musk's efforts to win subsidies for broadband internet service and criticized NBC for letting Vice President Kamala Harris appear on "Saturday Night Live" just before the election.
Reporting by Jody Godoy, Karen Freifeld and Milana Vinn; Editing by Rod Nickel and Marguerita Choy
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