Informed Sources: Harris Major Donor Privately Urges Replacement of FTC Chair Lina Khan and SEC Chair Gary Gensler
Leading Democratic Wall Street donors are stepping up their efforts to get US vice-president Kamala Harris's team to replace Federal Trade Commission chair Linda Khan and Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler in the wake of her likely victory in November, according to Bloomberg. The deep-pocketed donors have repeatedly named Khan in calls and fund-raisers with the Harris team, accusing him of holding back the tech industry and other sectors of the economy, according to people familiar with the matter. Private discussions have intensified since IAC chairperson Barry Diller and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman publicly called for Khan's ouster in July. Meanwhile, some people familiar with the matter said that donors from both parties are also unhappy with Gensler, seeing him as arrogant towards Wall Street. Billionaire Mark Cuban told CNBC this week that he had been asked by the vice president's team to consider him as SEC chairperson. While donors are likely to continue lobbying privately, they are unlikely to stop their contributions over Khan's fate. Harris has also not made clear to donors on Khan's position. FTC spokesperson Douglas Farrar declined to comment, while an SEC spokesperson said his program is improving the efficiency, transparency and resilience of U.S. capital markets.