Robert Pitofsky, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), will resign on May 31, according to a letter Pitofsky sent to President Bush dated May 25. He will be replaced by Timothy J. Muris, a professor of law at Fairfax, VA-based George Mason University.
In the letter, Pitofsky observed that "The Federal Trade Commission’s principal responsibilities relate to preserving markets against anti-competitive intrusions and protection of consumers from unfair and deceptive practices."
Pitofsky also said that "I believe completely in the validity of those goals and as a result have found it a privilege to chair this agency for a little more than 6 years. I hope and expect that this agency will continue to play a useful role in advancing the goals of a free, vigorous and fair economic system."
Each of the five commissioners of the FTC serves for a single seven-year term. Commissioners are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The President chooses one commissioner to act as chairman. Pitofsky, who was nominated by President Clinton, was sworn in on April 12, 1995 to finish the term of his predecessor.
Pitofsky’s term was scheduled to end Sept. 25, but he elected to resign early both to aid in the transition process, and to prepare for his roles as a professor of law at Georgetown law school to teach, and at Arnold & Porter, a Washington, DC law firm where he will advise on antitrust issues.
No more than three of the five commissioners may be from the same political party. The four remaining commissioners are evenly split, with Sheila F. Anthony and Mozelle W. Thompson representing the Democrats and Orson Swindle and Thomas B. Leary serving as the Republican contingent. Muris is a Republican, according to Eric London, an FTC spokesperson.
