President Trump on Tuesday nominated David MacNeil, a Republican political donor who founded and leads a company that makes automotive accessories, to an open seat on the Federal Trade Commission.
Mr. MacNeil is the chief executive of WeatherTech, an Illinois company that manufacturers floor mats for cars and homes, as well as other products like bowls for dogs and cats. He has backed Mr. Trump and donated extensively to Republican candidates for office.
Mr. MacNeil has lauded the value of domestic manufacturing. The F.T.C., which enforces consumer protection laws and blocks corporate deals that could damage competition, also cracks down on companies that falsely claim to make their goods in the United States.
“Being deceptive and saying its made in America, when it’s not, is not fair,” Mr. MacNeil told CBS News in July. “And so people should just tell the truth.”
Mr. MacNeil’s nomination follows Mr. Trump’s efforts to remake the F.T.C., a traditionally independent agency. The F.T.C. typically has five governing members, with three appointed from the president’s party.
Mr. Trump fired the commission’s two Democratic members last year, a move that challenged longstanding legal protections that prevent commissioners from losing their jobs over policy disagreements with the White House. The Supreme Court is now considering whether the president had the legal right to fire one of those commissioners, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter.
The White House announced Mr. MacNeil’s nomination on Tuesday, and it was confirmed in a congratulatory post on social media by Andrew Ferguson, the F.T.C.’s chair. If confirmed, Mr. MacNeil would take the seat vacated by the former Republican commissioner Melissa Holyoak, who left the agency in November.
Kirsten Noyes contributed research.
David McCabe is a Times reporter who covers the complex legal and policy issues created by the digital economy and new technologies.
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