Schumer Proposes Consumer Advocate Rohit Chopra For FTC

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has recommended Rohit Chopra, a consumer advocate with Consumer Federation of America, to serve on the Federal Trade Commission.

“The Federal Trade Commission should be led by people who put the interests of consumers above all else, and that’s what Rohit Chopra has done his entire life," Schumer, a Democrat from New York, stated Tuesday.

The FTC, a five-member panel, currently is functioning with only two commissioners -- Republican Maureen Ohlhausen, who serves as acting chairwoman, and Democrat Terrell McSweeny.

Trump hasn't yet named his picks for the three vacant seats, but is required to name at least one non-Republican. It's not yet known whether he will accept Schumer's recommendation for the spot.

Schumer's move comes two weeks after the trade group Association of National Advertisers called on Trump to fill the empty spots on the panel.

"With only one Commissioner from each party, in a politically fraught environment, the FTC could end up in 1-1 tie votes, leaving the Commission essentially paralyzed and unable to act in a number of areas of high importance to consumers and advertising interests," the ANA wrote in an April 26 blog post.

Chopra previously was with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where he served as student loan ombudsman.

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