A replacement for MacNeil
Mufarrige would move from directing the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection to a policymaking position on the commission, according to Bloomberg Law. The nomination is not yet final: a White House official told the publication that personnel announcements remain provisional until the president announces them. Mufarrige declined to comment.
Trump nominated MacNeil, the CEO of automotive accessories manufacturer WeatherTech, in January 2026 to fill the seat vacated by Melissa Holyoak. Her term expired on September 26, 2025, and she resigned on November 17 of that year. MacNeil would have been the commission's third Republican member; as of September 2026, he had not received Senate confirmation, according to law firm Vinson & Elkins.
Mufarrige's experience and enforcement record
Mufarrige currently leads the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. Before taking that role, he served as Holyoak's chief of staff and attorney adviser, according to his FTC biography.
During the first Trump administration, he was a senior adviser to the director and deputy director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where his work covered enforcement, rulemaking and supervisory exams. His career also includes positions at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and in private practice. He earned his law degree from George Mason University.
The FTC reached a record $2.5 billion settlement with Amazon during Mufarrige's tenure as consumer protection director, Briefs.co reported. The agreement resolved allegations that Amazon steered users into Prime memberships and made cancellation difficult. In a separate case brought in August 2026, the agency alleged that Amazon systematically overcharged advertisers by more than $20 billion.
Two commissioners remain
Ahead of the planned nomination, the FTC has just two sitting commissioners: Chair Andrew N. Ferguson and Mark R. Meador, both Republicans, according to Vinson & Elkins. Holyoak's departure followed Trump's removal of Democratic commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter in March 2025.
In June 2026, the Supreme Court upheld those dismissals in Trump v. Slaughter. Vinson & Elkins said the decision established that the president could remove FTC leadership at will, without cause, ending the agency's prior political independence.
