Trump’s consumer protection head has earned grudging respect – but does he have the authority to do his job?

Chris Mufarrige said doubters should look at his agency’s record and expect more tough consumer-friendly moves this summer. Composite: The Guardian/FTCView image in fullscreenChris Mufarrige said doubters should look at his agency’s record and expect more tough consumer-friendly moves this summer. Composite: The Guardian/FTCConsumedConsumer rightsInterviewTrump’s consumer protection head has earned grudging respect – but does he have the authority to do his job?Heather TimmonsChris Mufarrige has taken aim at Facebook scams and junk fees, but consumer advocates say he has an uphill climb

As the director of the Federal Trade Commission’s consumer protection bureau, Chris Mufarrige is the top enforcer protecting Americans against predatory companies.

The Trump administration’s push to defund and dismantle the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, carve-outs for Trump-friendly companies, pardons of white-collar criminals and the firing of FTC commissioners raise doubts about how effective his agency can be. And recent data about Donald Trump’s stock trading and crypto windfalls undermine the anti-corruption push.

Mufarrige told the Guardian that doubters should look at his agency’s record, and expect more tough consumer-friendly moves this summer.

Since taking the job in early 2025, he has pledged to expand oversight of finance companies and settled with Amazon, StubHub, Instacart, Shutterstock and others on deceptive subscriptions and pricing. An April FTC report spotlights the role Meta’s Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram play in scams that cost consumers $2.5bn in 2025. This week, the FTC joined five states to force Deere & Co to allow farmers to repair tractors and other equipment, a push started by the Biden administration.

“The Facebooks of the world, they have a responsibility here to deal with … clearcut fraud on their platforms,” he said.

Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Trade Commission Act into law in 1914, creating an agency with dual anti-trust and consumer-protection mandates to tackle “unfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce”.

The FTC’s five-member commission is down to just two Republican members, after Trump fired two Democrats in 2025, a move the supreme court backed. The agency has cut 287 employees overall since the end of 2024, according to government data.

The following transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity, from interviews conducted before Trump’s latest financial disclosures.

This administration has been criticized for siding with business over consumers, and the president and his family for business deals that benefit from his position. Does that impact how effective you can be at your job?

It has not impacted my job one bit. I would put our last 15 to 16 months, our record, up against anybody’s. We’ve been extremely active with cases against LA Fitness, Live Nation, Ticketmaster, Uber, Amazon.

How does your approach contrast with your predecessors in the Biden administration?