'Out and out brawl': AOC threatens billionaires playing 'footsie' with Harris ticket

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) took to X on Wednesday with a stark message for billionaires: Just because you support the Democratic ticket, doesn't mean that its policy and hiring choices are for sale.

The controversy stems from Lina Khan, the chair of the Federal Trade Commission under the Biden administration and an outspoken trustbuster who wants to break up tech monopolies.

"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. And that is a promise," wrote Ocasio-Cortez. "She proves this admin fights for working people. It would be terrible leadership to remove her."

Several business executives who generally back the Democratic ticket have expressed reservations over Khan's policy.

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Technology and entertainment billionaire Mark Cuban, a surrogate for the Harris campaign, has nudged Harris to choose someone else for FTC chair if elected, saying, "By trying to break up the biggest tech companies, you risk our ability to be the best in artificial intelligence."

Another wealthy executive, Expedia owner Barry Diller, has called Khan a "dope" who opposes "almost anything" business leaders support — and he notably owns companies the FTC is investigating.

All of this comes amid a growing bipartisan skepticism about the power of tech companies and whether their structure is stifling competition in the market.

One of the biggest such debates is playing out in a landmark antitrust trial against Google, which is accused of illegally monopolizing the search engine market by setting up agreements with smartphone manufacturers to default users to their services. A second case against Google running at the same time alleges the tech giant also holds a monopoly on internet advertising, effectively forcing huge numbers of web pages across the internet to change their own content.