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Who will Trump pick as regulators? Here are the contenders

Donald Trump has begun the process of choosing a cabinet and picking other high-ranking administration authorities following his U.S. presidential election triumph.

Here are a few of the competitors for a number of posts supervising policy and enforcement.

Commerce Department

LINDA MCMAHON

McMahon is seen as a top contender for Commerce secretary. She worked as head of the Small company Administration in the first Trump administration and is chair of the pro-Trump America First Action incredibly political action committee. She serves on the board of social media platform Truth Social, and is a major Trump donor.

ROBERT LIGHTHIZER

A patriot who acted as Trump's U.S. trade agent for basically the president-elect's entire very first term, Lighthizer will probably be welcomed back. He is considered a contender for the top tasks at Treasury, the Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade Representative's workplace. Lighthizer is a firm follower in tariffs and was among the leading figures in Trump's trade war with China.

VIVEK RAMASWAMY

A Republican governmental candidate till he dropped out of the race in January, Ramaswamy is a potential option for the top job at Commerce. The multi-millionaire previous biotech executive gotten fame in right-wing circles thanks to his 2021 bestseller Woke, Inc., which decries decisions by some huge business to base service method around social-justice and climate-change issues.

Antitrust

GAIL SLATER, a policy consultant to Vice President-elect JD Vance, is viewed by antitrust lawyers as a leading prospect to lead the Federal Trade Commission. Slater formerly advised Trump on information personal privacy and telecom, and held roles at Fox Corp and Roku. Before that, Slater was at the FTC for ten years, including as a consultant to then-Commissioner Julie Brill, who is now an executive at Microsoft.

MELISSA HOLYOAK, one of the FTC's two current commissioners, is a possible choice for acting chair. Holyoak was Utah's. lawyer general, and formerly led the Hamilton Lincoln Law. Institute, a conservative non-profit law office concentrated on complimentary. speech and limited government.

ANDREW FERGUSON, the other Republican on the FTC, is another. possible candidate for leading antitrust roles. Ferguson was. formerly primary counsel to Republican Senator Mitch McConnell. and clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Both. Ferguson and Holyoak voted versus a few of the company's. initiatives under chair Lina Khan, including a rule that would. make it much easier to cancel memberships and restriction non-compete. agreements.

ANDREW FINCH, a former deputy in the Department of Justice's. antitrust division under Trump who expressed hesitation towards. extreme require separating companies or turning tech platforms. into regulated energies, might be a contender to lead the. department. Finch is a partner at Paul Weiss where he has. represented Spirit Airlines, Uber Technologies. and Mastercard in merger reviews.

BARRY NIGRO, a former antitrust official at the DOJ and FTC. and partner at Fried Frank, is another prospective candidate. Nigro handled the DOJ's review of T-Mobile United States Inc's. $ 26-billion takeover of Sprint Corp in 2020 and pharmacy-chain. CVS Health Corp's $69-billion acquisition of health. insurer Aetna Inc.

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(source: Reuters)