Many of these panels are now unable to take action unless the Democratic and Republican members agree, effectively stalling their work.
June 4, 2017
‘When the Federal Trade Commission leveled deceptive-advertising allegations against DirecTV in 2015, all five FTC commissioners were on the job. There were four when Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and Rite Aid Corp. began trying to win antitrust clearance for a proposed merger later that year. And when the FTC sued Qualcomm Inc. early this year, there were three.
Now just two commissioners remain. It is a predicament never before seen in the agency’s 102-year history, one making life more complicated for these companies and others with delicate business before the FTC.’