FTC Acting Chairman Ohlhausen Names Thomas Pahl Acting Director of the Agency’s Bureau of Consumer Protection

Federal Trade Commission Acting Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen announced today that she has appointed Thomas Pahl, a partner at the Washington, D.C. law firm of Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, to be the Acting Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

 “Tom’s career demonstrates his continuing commitment to protecting consumers through active enforcement and advocacy that promotes a free and honest marketplace,” said Acting Chairman Ohlhausen. “His thoughtful approach will help ensure consumers benefit from thriving competition and innovation. Tom’s talent, deep consumer protection experience, and strong principles make him perfect to lead the Bureau of Consumer Protection, and I’m very pleased to have him aboard.”

Pahl is rejoining the FTC, having served in a number of different roles starting in 1990, including management stints in the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection as Assistant Director in the Division of Advertising Practices and the Division of Financial Practices. He also advised top agency officials on consumer protection matters. For three years, he advised Reagan appointee and FTC Commissioner Mary Azcuenaga. And he later served for four years as an attorney advisor for Republican FTC Commissioner Orson Swindle. 

Pahl previously served a detail to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee under the leadership of Chairman Orrin Hatch, focusing on antitrust and consumer privacy issues. Pahl also has worked as an adjunct professor of law at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, and is a member of the Federalist Society.

More recently, Pahl has worked on consumer financial protection issues (especially credit reporting and debt collection issues) as a partner at Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, and on debt collection issues at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Pahl is a native Minnesotan who earned a B.A. in Economics, summa cum laude from the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He earned his law degree, cum laude, from Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, Illinois. Afterwards, he returned to Minnesota to clerk for Hon. D.D. Wozniak, the Chief Judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, and worked as a litigator a large Minneapolis law firm before starting his career at the FTC.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357).  Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

IR Press

Recent Posts

Treasury Issues Final Rule Expanding CFIUS Coverage of Real Estate Transactions Around More Than 60 Military Installations

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), as Chair of the Committee…

4 days ago

U.S. Department of the Treasury’s CDFI Fund and Federal Housing Finance Agency Collaborate to Bolster CDFI Access to Capital

WASHINGTON—Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) and…

4 days ago

Report on U.S. Portfolio Holdings of Foreign Securities at Year-End 2023

Washington – The findings from the annual survey of U.S. portfolio holdings of foreign securities…

5 days ago

READOUT: U.S. Department of the Treasury Hosts Roundtable Discussion on the Financial Sector’s Response to Recent Hurricanes

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury hosted a roundtable on October 30 with…

5 days ago

READOUT: Sixth Meeting of the Financial Working Group Between the United States and the People’s Republic of China

WASHINGTON – The United States and the People’s Republic of China held the sixth meeting…

5 days ago

Treasury Sanctions Key Members of La Linea, a Group Involved in Trafficking Fentanyl into the United States

WASHINGTON — Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned…

5 days ago