President Donald Trump made an unconventional pick for his nomination to the Federal Trade Commission: WeatherTech founder and CEO David MacNeil.
MacNeil founded the company, which makes weather-resistant car floor mats, in 1989, according to its website, and he owns 100 percent of the company. WeatherTech has made it a mission to keep its manufacturing and workforce in the US. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson congratulated MacNeil on X and called him an “outstanding businessman and great patriot,” sharing a clip from a news segment where MacNeil shared his commitment to manufacturing in the US. If confirmed, MacNeil become the third member of the panel, taking the seat formerly held by Melissa Holyoak, who is now a US Attorney in Utah.
MacNeil’s background is somewhat unusual for an FTC commissioner. Many come from legal and academic, or have experience working on Capitol Hill. MacNeil is a reported billionaire who recently bought a $75 million mansion in a town near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago. He’s a Republican donor who has supported Trump, though notably in 2018 threatened to withhold donations from candidates who refused to support the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Still, his experience may fit with some of the FTC’s current enforcement and regulatory goals, such as enforcing the Made in the USA Labeling Rule, to prevent deceptive marketing. MacNeil will need to be confirmed by the Senate, where Democrats will likely take issue with Trump’s failure to nominate Democrats to the typically five member panel after firing two of them against Supreme Court precedent.
