Trump would do well to appoint Sean Reyes as federal trade commissioner

As President Trump moves to finalize major appointees to his administration, one high-level post that still needs filling is the chairmanship of the Federal Trade Commission. Reportedly among the names that the president is considering for that position is current Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, whose terrific experience and list of achievements would make him an excellent choice. 

Reyes is a nationally recognized legal professional and outstanding public servant. He understands the legal needs of working class families, its diverse communities, and its thriving entrepreneurial sector. While there are other candidates who have strong backgrounds and would do well at the FTC, it is clear that Sean Reyes would make an outstanding choice.

{mosads}Reyes has the educational and legal expertise to thrive in this position. He graduated summa cum laude from Brigham Young University and earned his law degree from U.C. Berkeley. He practiced law for 14 years at Parsons Behle & Latimer, the largest law firm in the State of Utah. As a litigation attorney, Reyes litigated some of Utah’s largest and most high-profile cases. In addition, he has appellate experience in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, Utah Supreme Court and United States Supreme Court on briefs and oral arguments, as well as trial experience at the federal and state level.

Reyes was appointed by Gov. John Huntsman to serve on the Third District Judicial Nominating Commission. During his time in office, President George W. Bush established a National Congressional Commission, where Reyes served and conducted public hearings throughout the country to advise the Administration and Congress on issues that were important to the Hispanic community. In addition, before he served as attorney general, Reyes was a small claims judge for the Third District Court and a co-founder and board member for Fraud College, an education entity to combat white-collar fraud.

The FTC was created to protect consumers and promote fair competition in the marketplace. As attorney general, Reyes fought corruption and reestablished the trustworthiness of the office following multiple investigations of the previous attorney general, who was accused of accepting gifts and soliciting bribes from people in exchange for favorable treatment. Reyes came to the office and boldly required the resignation of all his leadership, demanding that they reapply for jobs to make due on his promise to hire based on professional merit—an effort to level the playing field that also happened to result in the increase of female and minority representation in the office. By all accounts Reyes was successful in reestablishing public trust in the attorney general’s office.

If selected, Reyes would manage an agency that reviews major mergers and inspects the rapidly growing Silicon Valley tech companies for their privacy and antitrust practices, an area for which Reyes has earned praised. In addition, the FTC plays a key role in investigating criminal behavior that targets consumers such as identify theft and a wide variety of scams including the recent rise of ‘imposter scams’ where, as described by the FTC itself “a scammer pretends to be someone trustworthy, such as a government official or computer technician to convince a consumer to send money.” 

While not as attention-grabbing as other programs, these are important efforts, especially in communities where financial literacy is a challenge, and when government institutions are generally suffering from lack of trust.

Reyes’ appointment to the FTC would help strengthen the direction of the commission, as well as the confidence of consumers. He’s been considered a rising star by many in Washington. He will be a committed advocate for positive business ethics and promote the right policies that will bring consumer confidence to our economy—a great candidate to help “drain the swamp.” 

Mario H. Lopez is president of the Hispanic Leadership Fund, an advocacy organization that supports public policy that fosters liberty, opportunity, and prosperity for all Americans.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.