# List of members of the Federal Trade Commission

The following is a list of individuals who have served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) beginning in 1949.

## Current commissioners

The commission is headed by five commissioners, who each serve seven-year terms. Commissioners are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. No more than three commissioners can be of the same political party. In practice, this means that two commissions are of the opposition party. However, three members of the FTC throughout its history have been without party affiliation, with the most recent independent, Pamela Jones Harbour, serving from 2003 to 2009.
| Name | Party | Prior experience | Education | Term began | Term expires |
| Andrew Ferguson (Chair) | Republican | Solicitor general of the Commonwealth of Virginia | University of Virginia (BA) University of Virginia (JD) | April 2, 2024 | September 26, 2030 |
| Rebecca Slaughter | Democratic | Legal advisor to Senator Chuck Schumer | Yale University (BA) Yale Law School (JD) | May 2, 2018 | September 26, 2029 |
| Alvaro Bedoya | Democratic | Director of the Center on Privacy and Technology at the Georgetown University Law Center | Harvard College (BA) Yale Law School (JD) | May 16, 2022 | September 26, 2026 |
| Melissa Holyoak | Republican | Solicitor general of Utah | University of Utah (BA) University of Utah (JD) | March 25, 2024 | September 26, 2025 |
| Vacant | | | | | September 26, 2031 |

## Former commissioners

The following is a list of individuals who have served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) beginning in 1949, including party affiliation.
| Commissioners | Party | Years in office | Prior experience |
| John J. Carson | Republican | September 28, 1948 – March 31, 1953 | Journalist, The Baltimore Sun |
| Stephen J. Spingarn | Democratic | October 25, 1950 – September 25, 1953 | Assistant General Counsel, Department of the Treasury |
| Caspar Weinberger | Republican | December 31, 1969 – August 6, 1970 | California State Assemblyman for the 21st district |
| Philip Elman | Independent | April 21, 1961 – October 18, 1970 | Assistant to the Solicitor General |
| Miles Kirkpatrick | Republican | September 14, 1970 – February 20, 1973 | Head of the Antitrust Section, American Bar Association (ABA) |
| Everette MacIntyre | Democratic | September 26, 1961 – August 30, 1973 | FTC trial lawyer |
| Mary Gardiner Jones | Republican | October 29, 1964 – November 2, 1973 | Staff attorney, DOJ Antitrust Division |
| David S. Dennison Jr. | Republican | October 18, 1970 – December 31, 1973 | Congressman from Ohio's 11th district |
| Mayo J. Thompson | Democratic | July 8, 1973 – September 26, 1975 | Antitrust attorney in private practice |
| Lewis A. Engman | Democratic | February 20, 1973 – December 31, 1975 | Assistant Director, White House Domestic Council |
| Calvin J. Collier | Republican | March 24, 1976 – December 31, 1977 | Director of Urban Program Coordination, Department of Housing and Urban Development |
| Stephen A. Nye | Republican | May 5, 1974 – May 5, 1978 | Partner at Sullivan, Jones and Archer LLP |
| Elizabeth Hanford Dole | Democratic (1973-1975) Republican (1975-1979) | December 4, 1973 – March 9, 1979 | Director, White House Office of Consumer Affairs |
| Paul Rand Dixon | Democratic | March 21, 1961 – September 25, 1981 | FTC trial attorney |
| David A. Clanton | Republican | August 26, 1975 – October 14, 1983 | Minority Staff Counsel, Senate Committee on Commerce |
| Michael Pertschuk | Democratic | April 21, 1977 – October 15, 1984 | Chief Counsel, Senate Committee on Commerce |
| George W. Douglas | Democratic | December 27, 1982 – September 18, 1985 | President, Southwest Econometrics Inc. (private economic research firm) |
| James C. Miller III | Republican | September 30, 1981 – October 5, 1985 | Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) |
| Patricia P. Bailey | Republican | October 29, 1979 – May 15, 1988 | Assistant to the General Counsel, Merit Systems Protection Board |
| Daniel Oliver | Republican | April 21, 1986 – August 10, 1989 | Executive Editor, National Review |
| Terry Calvani | Republican | November 18, 1983 – September 25, 1990 | Law professor, Vanderbilt University School of Law |
| Andrew Strenio | Democratic | March 17, 1986 – July 15, 1991 | Member, Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) |
| Deborah K. Owen | Republican | October 25, 1989 – August 26, 1994 | Associate White House Counsel |
| Dennis A. Yao | Democratic | July 16, 1991 – August 31, 1994 | Professor, Wharton School of Business |
| Christine A. Varney | Democratic | October 17, 1994 – August 5, 1997 | White House Cabinet Secretary |
| Janet D. Steiger | Republican | August 11, 1989 – September 28, 1997 | Chair of the Postal Rate Commission |
| Roscoe B. Starek III | Republican | November 19, 1990 – December 18, 1997 | Deputy Director of Presidential Personnel |
| Mary Azcuenaga | Independent | November 27, 1984 – June 3, 1998 | FTC Assistant General Counsel |
| Robert Pitofsky | Democratic | June 29, 1978 – April 30, 1981 April 11, 1995 – May 31, 2001 | Director, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection |
| Sheila F. Anthony | Democratic | September 30, 1997 – August 1, 2003 | Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs |
| Timothy Muris | Republican | June 4, 2001 – August 15, 2004 | Law professor, GMU School of Law |
| Mozelle W. Thompson | Democratic | December 17, 1997 – August 31, 2004 | Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Policy |
| Orson Swindle | Republican | December 18, 1997 – June 30, 2005 | Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Development |
| Thomas B. Leary | Republican | November 17, 1999 – December 31, 2005 | Assistant General Counsel, General Motors |
| Deborah Platt Majoras | Republican | August 16, 2004 – March 29, 2008 | Deputy Assistant Attorney General, DOJ Antitrust Division |
| Pamela Jones Harbour | Independent | August 4, 2003 – April 6, 2010 | Deputy Attorney General of New York |
| William Kovacic | Republican | January 4, 2006 – October 3, 2011 | Law professor, The George Washington University Law School |
| J. Thomas Rosch | Republican | January 5, 2006 - Sept 2012 | Director, FTC Bureau of Competition |
| Jon Leibowitz | Democratic | March 2, 2009 – March 7, 2013 | Lobbyist, Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) |
| Joshua D. Wright | Republican | January 11, 2013 – August 24, 2015 | Law professor, GMU Antonin Scalia Law School |
| Julie Brill | Democratic | April 6, 2010 – March 31, 2016 | Assistant Attorney General of Vermont for Consumer Protection and Antitrust |
| Edith Ramirez | Democratic | April 5, 2010 – February 10, 2017 | Vice President, LA Department of Water and Power Board of Commissioners |
| Terrell McSweeny | Democratic | April 28, 2014 – April 27, 2018 | Chief Counsel for Competition Policy and Intergovernmental Relations, DOJ Antitrust Division |
| Joseph Simons | Republican | May 1, 2018 – January 29, 2021 | Director, FTC Bureau of Competition |
| Rohit Chopra | Democratic | May 2, 2018 – October 12, 2021 | CFPB Assistant Director |
| Noah J. Phillips | Republican | May 2, 2018 – October 14, 2022 | Counsel to Senator John Cornyn |
| Christine S. Wilson | Republican | September 26, 2018 – March 31, 2023 | Senior Vice President, Delta Air Lines |
| Lina Khan | Democratic | June 15, 2021 – January 31, 2025 | Legal scholar |
List of Federal Trade Commission members (1918–2023)

## Chairs

The following is a list of the chairs of the Federal Trade Commission.

### Chairs selected by the members

| No. | Chair | Party | Start | End |
| 1 | Joseph E. Davies | Democratic | March 16, 1915 | June 30, 1916 |
| 2 | Edward N. Hurley | Democratic | July 1, 1916 | January 31, 1917 |
| 3 | William J. Harris | Democratic | February 1, 1917 | May 6, 1918 |
| 4 | William Byron Colver | Democratic | May 7, 1918 | June 30, 1919 |
| 5 | John Franklin Fort | Republican | July 1, 1919 | November 30, 1919 |
| 6 | Victor Murdock | Progressive | December 1, 1919 | November 30, 1920 |
| 7 | Samuel Huston Thompson | Democratic | December 1, 1920 | November 30, 1921 |
| 8 | Nelson B. Gaskill | Republican | December 1, 1921 | November 30, 1922 |
| 9 | Victor Murdock | Progressive | December 1, 1922 | November 30, 1923 |
| 10 | Samuel Huston Thompson | Democratic | December 1, 1923 | November 30, 1924 |
| 11 | Vernon W. Van Fleet | Republican | December 1, 1924 | November 30, 1925 |
| 12 | John F. Nugent | Democratic | December 1, 1925 | November 30, 1926 |
| 13 | Charles W. Hunt | Republican | December 1, 1926 | November 30, 1927 |
| 14 | William E. Humphrey | Republican | December 1, 1927 | November 30, 1928 |
| 15 | Abram F. Myers | Republican | December 1, 1928 | January 15, 1929 |
| 16 | Edgar A. McCulloch | Democratic | January 16, 1929 | November 30, 1929 |
| 17 | Garland Ferguson Jr. | Democratic | January 1, 1930 | December 30, 1930 |
| 18 | Charles W. Hunt | Republican | January 1, 1931 | December 31, 1931 |
| 19 | William E. Humphrey | Republican | February 1, 1932 | December 31, 1932 |
| 20 | Charles H. March | Republican | January 1, 1933 | December 31, 1933 |
| 21 | Garland Ferguson Jr. | Democratic | January 1, 1934 | December 31, 1934 |
| 22 | Ewin L. Davis | Democratic | January 1, 1935 | December 31, 1935 |
| 23 | Charles H. March | Republican | January 1, 1936 | December 31, 1936 |
| 24 | William Augustus Ayres | Democratic | January 1, 1937 | December 31, 1937 |
| 25 | Garland Ferguson Jr. | Democratic | January 1, 1938 | December 31, 1938 |
| 26 | Robert E. Freer | Republican | January 1, 1939 | December 31, 1939 |
| 27 | Ewin L. Davis | Democratic | January 1, 1940 | December 31, 1940 |
| 28 | Charles H. March | Republican | January 1, 1941 | December 31, 1941 |
| 29 | William Augustus Ayres | Democratic | January 1, 1942 | December 31, 1942 |
| 30 | Garland Ferguson Jr. | Democratic | January 1, 1943 | December 31, 1943 |
| 31 | Robert E. Freer | Republican | January 1, 1944 | December 31, 1944 |
| 32 | Ewin L. Davis | Democratic | January 1, 1945 | December 31, 1945 |
| 33 | William Augustus Ayres | Democratic | January 1, 1946 | December 31, 1946 |
| 34 | Garland Ferguson Jr. | Democratic | January 1, 1947 | December 31, 1947 |
| 35 | Robert E. Freer | Republican | January 1, 1948 | December 31, 1948 |
| 36 | Lowell B. Mason | Republican | January 1, 1949 | May 23, 1950 |

### Chairs designated by the president

| No. | Chair | Party | Start | End | Notes |
| 37 | James M. Mead | Democratic | May 24, 1950 | March 31, 1953 | |
| 38 | Edward F. Howrey | Republican | April 1, 1953 | September 12, 1955 | |
| 39 | John W. Gwynne | Republican | September 12, 1955 | May 31, 1959 | |
| 40 | Earl W. Kintner | Republican | June 11, 1959 | March 20, 1961 | |
| 41 | Paul Rand Dixon | Democratic | March 21, 1961 | December 31, 1969 | |
| 42 | Caspar Weinberger | Republican | January 1, 1970 | August 6, 1970 | |
| – | Everette MacIntyre | Democratic | August 8, 1970 | September 14, 1970 | Acting |
| 43 | Miles W. Kirkpatrick | Republican | September 15, 1970 | February 20, 1973 | |
| 44 | Lewis A. Engman | Republican | February 21, 1973 | December 31, 1975 | |
| – | Paul Rand Dixon | Democratic | January 1, 1976 | March 25, 1976 | Acting |
| 45 | Calvin J. Collier | Republican | March 25, 1976 | April 20, 1977 | |
| 46 | Michael Pertschuk | Democratic | April 21, 1977 | March 3, 1981 | |
| – | David A. Clanton | Republican | March 4, 1981 | September 25, 1981 | Acting |
| 47 | James C. Miller III | Republican | September 26, 1981 | October 4, 1985 | |
| – | Terry Calvani | Republican | October 7, 1985 | April 20, 1986 | Acting |
| 48 | Daniel Oliver | Republican | April 21, 1986 | August 10, 1989 | |
| 49 | Janet Dempsey Steiger | Republican | August 11, 1989 | April 11, 1995 | |
| 50 | Robert Pitofsky | Democratic | April 11, 1995 | May 31, 2001 | |
| 51 | Timothy Muris | Republican | June 4, 2001 | August 15, 2004 | |
| 52 | Deborah Platt Majoras | Republican | August 16, 2004 | March 30, 2008 | |
| – | William Kovacic | Republican | March 31, 2008 | March 1, 2009 | Acting |
| 53 | Jon Leibowitz | Democratic | March 2, 2009 | March 4, 2013 | |
| 54 | Edith Ramirez | Democratic | March 4, 2013 | January 25, 2017 | |
| – | Maureen Ohlhausen | Republican | January 25, 2017 | May 1, 2018 | Acting |
| 55 | Joseph Simons | Republican | May 1, 2018 | January 21, 2021 | |
| – | Rebecca Slaughter | Democratic | January 21, 2021 | June 15, 2021 | Acting |
| 56 | Lina Khan | Democratic | June 15, 2021 | January 20, 2025 | |
| 57 | Andrew N. Ferguson | Republican | January 20, 2025 | present | |

## Backgrounds of commissioners
### Demographics

As of 2021, there have been:
* Three African-Americans to serve on the FTC: A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. (served from 1962 to 1964), Mozelle W. Thompson (served from 1997 to 2004), Pamela Jones Harbour (served from 2003 to 2009).
* Three Asian-Americans to serve on the FTC: Dennis Yao (served from 1991 to 1994), Rohit Chopra (served since 2018), and Lina Khan (served since 2021); Khan is the first Asian-American to serve as FTC Chair.
* Three independents to serve on the FTC: Philip Elman (served from 1961 to 1970), Mary Azcuenaga (served from 1984 to 1998), and Pamela Jones Harbour (served from 2003 to 2009)

### Career backgrounds

The vast majority of FTC members have been individuals with legal backgrounds, with notable exceptions. President Ronald Reagan appointed the first two professional economists, James C. Miller III and George W. Douglas, to serve on the body. Dennis Yao, a Democrat who served from 1991 to 1994, held a Ph.D in economics, and Joshua D. Wright, a Republican who served from 2013 to 2015, held a both a J.D. and a Ph.D. in economics.