President Donald Trump chose an unconventional choice for his nomination to the Federal Trade Commission: WeatherTech founder and CEO David McNeil.
According to his website, McNeil founded the company in 1989, which makes weather-resistant car floor mats, and he owns 100 percent of the company. WeatherTech has made it a mission to keep its manufacturing and workforce in the US. FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson congratulated McNeil on the move and called him an “outstanding businessman and great patriot”, sharing a clip from a news segment where McNeil shared his commitment to manufacturing in America. If confirmed, McNeil would become the third member of the panel, filling the seat previously held by Melissa Holyoak, now the U.S. attorney in Utah.
McNeil’s background is somewhat unusual for an FTC commissioner. Many come from the legal and academic fields, or have experience working on Capitol Hill. McNeil is a reported billionaire who recently purchased a $75 million mansion in a town near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago. He is a Republican donor who has supported Trump, although notably in 2018 threatened to withhold donations from candidates who refused to support the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Still, their experience may fit with some of the FTC’s existing enforcement and regulatory goals, such as enforcing the Made in USA labeling rule to prevent deceptive marketing. McNeil would need to be confirmed by the Senate, where Democrats would likely take issue with Trump’s failure to nominate a Democrat to the normally five-member panel after firing two of them against Supreme Court precedent.
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