Create Chair’s office role for state AG cooperation; restore regional office authority
Mandate proposes a distinct Chairman’s-office role focused on state AG cooperation (Big Tech, hospital/supermarket mergers) and returning authority to shrunk FTC regional offices—while noting some conservatives dissent on expanding regional footprint.
Mandate
Mandate Ch. 30 (FTC) — Antitrust Enforcement: practically, establish a distinct role in the FTC Chairman’s office focused on state AG cooperation and inviting state AGs to D.C. to discuss enforcement policy in key sectors (Big Tech, hospital mergers, supermarket mergers); FTC should consider returning authority to regional offices whose reach has shrunk; chapter notes dissent that expanding regional offices spreads bureaucracy.
Undo plan
1) Formalize state AG coordination for parallel merger reviews without federalizing state political agendas.
2) Restore regional investigatory capacity for local hospital/retail mergers with HQ legal consistency.
3) Avoid patronage-driven office proliferation; tie footprint to caseload metrics.
4) Publish joint federal-state process MOUs.
5) Verify: state-federal co-signed complaints; regional FTE vs. case output.