White House to designate Kovacic as FTC chairman

WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) - The White House said on
Wednesday it plans to designate William Kovacic, a Republican
commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission, to be chairman of
the agency.

Kovacic would replace FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras,
who is leaving the agency to become general counsel of Procter
& Gamble Co (PG.N: Quote, Profile, Research). Kovacic was sworn in as a commissioner in
2006 and previously was the FTC's general counsel from 2001
through the end of 2004.

The five-member commission also includes Republican Thomas
Rosch, Democrat Jon Leibowitz, and Pamela Jones Harbour, an
independent.

It was unclear whether President George W. Bush would
nominate a replacement for the empty commissioner's seat at the
FTC. A number of federal agencies, such as the Securities and
Exchange Commission, have unfilled vacancies because of months
of friction between the White House and the Democrat-controlled
U.S. Senate, which must confirm new commissioners.

The FTC, along with the U.S. Justice Department, reviews
proposed corporate acquisitions for antitrust concerns. The
agency also investigates deceptive advertising.

Under Majoras, the FTC fined telemarketers and spyware
makers millions of dollars and tried to block Whole Foods
Market's acquisition of organic retailing rival Wild Oats
markets.
(Reporting by Julie Vorman, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)