Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez vowed an "out and out brawl" if anyone goes after Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan.
Harris-Walz campaign surrogate Mark Cuban told Semafor that Vice President Kamala Harris should replace Khan as the head of the FTC, which prompted AOC to respond.
"If it were me, I wouldn’t" keep Khan, Cuban said at a Kaiser Family Foundation lunch on Tuesday. "The bigger picture is, she’s hurting more than she’s helping."
Cuban said he hadn't talked to Harris' advisers about it, and while he applauded her efforts in launching antitrust probes, he said she had overstepped in taking on technology firms in the AI space.
"Let me make this clear, since billionaires have been trying to play footsie with the ticket: Anyone goes near Lina Khan and there will be an out and out brawl," AOC posted to X. "And that is a promise. She proves this admin fights for working people. It would be terrible leadership to remove her."
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also posted his support of Khan on X.
US FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION LEADERS PLAN TO PURSUE COMPANIES THAT MISUSE AI TO VIOLATE CIVIL RIGHTS
".@mcuban wrong," he wrote. "Lina Khan is the best FTC Chair in modern history. By taking on corporate greed & illegal monopolies, Lina is doing an exceptional job preventing large corporations from ripping-off consumers & exploiting workers."
The FTC responded to Cuban's remarks, touting Khan’s belief that "extreme consolidation" is damaging the United States.
"Chair Khan believes that choosing competition over centralized corporate control of markets is the path to letting the best ideas win," FTC spokesperson Doug Farrar told Semafor.
Cuban clarified his position on X, stating: "This is about AI. It’s a zero sum race for global dominance. If we lose, the consequences are far more than economic. We have multiple companies fighting to win this race. And that competition is moving everyone forward. Even with the insane amount of capital required."
