Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes is reportedly on Donald Trump’s shortlist to head the Federal Trade Commission.
Politico reports that, if selected, Reyes would be in charge of the agency that oversees mergers and big technology companies. Reyes joined a lawsuit last year asking the FTC to revisit an anti-trust investigation into Google.
As attorney general, Reyes frequently joined with his Republican colleagues in suing the Obama administration in a variety of areas — from its use of federal lands to its position on transgender rights. At the state level, Reyes has been active on issues like white-collar crime and human trafficking, and one of his earliest moves was to head to court to preserve Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage.
Despite his positions, some tech giants have tried to cozy up to Reyes. Facebook, for example, wrote a $10,000 check for the attorney general in October, according to Utah campaign finance data. Microsoft wrote a $1,000 check that month.
The current head of the FTC, Democrat Edith Ramirez, plans to resign on February 10.
If Reyes is picked by Trump, his replacement will be selected in the same way he ascended to the Attorney General’s office in 2013. After John Swallow resigned that year, the Utah Republican Central Committee forwarded three candidates to Gov. Gary Herbert: Reyes, Robert Smith, and Brian Tarbet. Herbert picked Reyes to fill Swallow’s seat until the 2014 general election where Reyes defeated Democrat Charles Stormont.
If Reyes leaves his seat, the GOP Central Committee would again pick 3 names to forward to the governor. Whoever Gov. Herbert picks would be in office until the 2018 election, meaning the Attorney General seat would be on the ballot in four straight elections.
