Politics

Obama to Name Former Colleague, Supporter to Head FTC

Edith Ramirez worked for president's campaign in 2008 and has been on commission since 2010

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President Barack Obama intends to name Edith Ramirez, once a colleague of his at the Harvard Law Review, as chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, a White House official said on Thursday.

Ramirez, a Democrat who worked for Obama during the 2008 presidential race, was a Los Angeles lawyer specializing in business litigation and intellectual property before joining the commission. She has been a commissioner since 2010.

She will lead the commission as the FTC is considering several high-profile mergers, including the proposed Office Depot Inc deal to buy rival superstore OfficeMax, Tesoro Corp's purchase of a BP refinery in gas-price sensitive California, and Tempur-Pedic's proposed purchase of mattress rival Sealy Corp.