Among the Biden administration’s many failures was the hostility shown to American innovators and businesses. Their constant disregard of American competitiveness on the global stage, led by former President Joe Biden’s handpicked, far-left Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chair, Lina Khan, wreaked havoc on consumers and innovators alike through high inflation and slowed GDP growth.
Even though Biden, Khan, and former Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division Jonathan Kanter have left Washington, their dangerous anti-business mindset unfortunately lives on. Consider efforts such as California’s BASED Act or, at the federal level, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA).
In Gov. Gavin Newsom’s California, the BASED Act, introduced by state Sen. Scott Wiener, who is considered the likely successor to Nancy Pelosi in Congress, is so extreme that it couldn’t even make it out of the relevant committee. Even lawmakers in the bluest of blue states see that the BASED Act would irreparably damage the online experience and hurt the very consumers it claims to help.
With that context, it is curious that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle would even entertain the AICOA. Long a pipe dream of Khan and militant progressives like Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), conservative lawmakers worried about our economic well-being would be wise to steer far clear.
Backers of AICOA subscribe to the “big is bad” mentality. In their worldview, companies of a certain size require government intervention to level the playing field.
In practice, the results are disastrous.
In 2024, this philosophy blocked a proposed grocery merger between Kroger and Albertsons, two chains that were set to join forces in order to compete with larger players like Walmart. After a federal court halted the acquisition, Khan’s FTC – which challenged the merger – declared “victory” for “hardworking union employees”. Fast forward to today, and such workers are receiving pink slips. Albertsons has been forced to shutter more stores and jobs nationwide on top of the roughly 20 it closed in 2025.
The timing of the Albertsons layoffs arrived as Khan, who has recently been in the news for advising New York City’s socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, launched the Center for Law and Economy at Columbia University. Perhaps her first seminar should explain to the newly unemployed how a “victory” for the people results in a ‘Closed’ sign on the front door of their workplace and fewer grocery options for consumers.
The antitrust crusaders also blocked Amazon’s attempt to purchase iRobot, known as the manufacturer of the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner. Two years ago, iRobot was an American innovator on the rise. Then Khan worked with European regulators, whose laws and regulations are more hostile to growth and innovation than ours, to ensure that the transaction would not go through.
Today, iRobot is bankrupt and hundreds of its Massachusetts-based employees are long since out of work. Adding insult to injury, its assets were bought out by its biggest creditor: a Chinese manufacturer. A uniquely American pioneer in a field as cutting edge and globally competitive as robotics went out of business due to the ideological whims of an unchecked, misguided regulator.
They also prevented a merger between JetBlue and Spirit Airlines. Combined, the two affordable airlines would have commanded approximately 8% of the U.S. domestic market share, making it the fifth-largest U.S. carrier. The pro-consumer move would have challenged the dominance of the “Big Four” airlines and the nearly 70% of the market they control.
After the Biden administration blocked JetBlue’s acquisition of Spirit, Jonathan Kanter celebrated the move as a win for travelers, “who deserve lower prices and better choices.” However, since then, Spirit filed for bankruptcy and has since been forced to cut hundreds of jobs, furlough pilots, reduce flight routes and cease operations in dozens of cities. The airline’s future is so bleak the Trump Administration is putting together a rescue package.
Sensing a pattern yet?
Now, these same economic antagonists and anti-innovation voices are back again, urging lawmakers to reintroduce AICOA, an effort so controversial it couldn’t pass a Congress controlled entirely by Democrats during the first two years of the Biden administration. Even members of Klobuchar’s own Senate caucus raised concerns about the legislation. Combined with the failure of deep-blue California’s BASED Act in committee, it is clear that bills championed by these anti-business actors are simply a bridge too far even for the most extreme ideologues.
AICOA would increase consumer prices, degrade the consumer experience and weaken security on America’s largest platforms. By effectively banning the advertisement of “store brands,” such as Amazon Basics and Walmart’s Great Value, the bill would make it harder for Americans to quickly find affordable goods online.
In 2024, American voters rejected the failures of Bidenomics and opted for a new direction. Let’s not repeat the far left’s mistakes. Let’s follow the lead of California Democrats by rejecting AICOA and allow innovation to lead us to a new and brighter future.
