Wall Street heavyweights backing Kamala Harris have ratcheted up the pressure on the Democratic presidential nominee to oust top regulators if she wins the White House, according to a report.
The deep-pocketed donors have repeatedly targeted progressive FTC chair Lina Khan – who they claim has hampered deal-making in the tech sector and other parts of the economy – during calls with Harris’ staffers and at fundraisers, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
The push to dump Khan has reportedly intensified in recent weeks after public calls for her removal in July by billionaire donors IAC Chairman Barry Diller and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, who said Khan was “waging war on American business.”
President Joe Biden tapped Khan, 35, to head the agency in 2021. She has been a favorite of progressive lawmakers like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who called her appointment “tremendous news,” but many from Wall Street to Silicon Valley have griped about the dearth of deals on her watch.
Nevertheless, major tech donors will likely continue to funnel cash into Harris’ campaign, sources told Bloomberg.
Harris’ campaign has not given donors a clear answer on the vice president’s opinion of Khan and campaign backers are not withholding their donations based on Khan, sources said.
Harris’ campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, SEC chair Gary Gensler is despised by both Democratic and Republican donors, sources told Bloomberg.
Gensler – whose term is up in 2026 – has been outspokenly pushing for tougher industry regulations.
“Shark Tank” investor Mark Cuban – who has endorsed Harris – told CNBC this week that the SEC “needs to change.”
Cuban said he asked Harris’ team to “put my name in for the SEC.”
Former President Donald Trump said during the 2024 Bitcoin Conference that he would fire Gensler if the Republican nominee wins in November.
The FTC declined to comment and the SEC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Both Khan and Gensler have led their government agencies with “fairly aggressive” agendas, Jill Fisch, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, told Bloomberg.
“They weren’t looking to play it safe,” Fisch said. “They weren’t looking to compromise.”
Though the FTC and SEC were historically meant to operate outside of the political realm, those boundaries are seemingly fading.
“Right now it’s no longer what’s most sensible to do from a market and industry perspective, but what’s politically salient, and what’s going to please political leaders — and that’s a very tough path to navigate,” Fisch said.
Under Khan, the FTC has fought to block Microsoft’s acquisition of video game company Activision Blizzard and the $25 billion grocery store merger between Kroger and Albertsons, which analysts previously told The Post is increasingly unlikely.
Much of the frustration over Gensler stems from the SEC’s efforts to clamp down on crypto industry, which he has described as flagrantly violating securities laws.
