The Federal Trade Commission hired a former New York state attorney who said she was fired after publicly criticizing transgender medical treatments for children, assigning her to a senior role expected to focus on potential consumer protection issues tied to that care.
Glenna Goldis will serve as a senior litigator in the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, where she is expected to help lead investigations into possible consumer harm related to medical interventions for minors that supporters often call "gender-affirming care," according to a person familiar with the matter. The Daily Wire first reported the hire.
"Glenna is an extraordinary, brave, and intelligent woman with an impressive history of working on consumer protection matters," said Joe Simonson, the FTC's director of public affairs. "We are so excited to have her aboard."
Goldis previously worked as an assistant attorney general under New York Attorney General Letitia James. Goldis, who has described herself publicly as a "lefty lesbian lawyer," said she was dismissed after speaking out against the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors.
"Today I was fired by NY Attorney General Letitia James for speaking out against pediatric gender medicine (PGM)," Goldis wrote on social media on Jan. 22 in a since-deleted post. "I was an attorney in (the New York attorney general's) consumer frauds bureau, which did not work on anything related to PGM."
Goldis said she raised concerns internally and publicly that providers of such treatments "may be engaged in a dangerous consumer fraud," adding that James' office "treated me like a pest."
A spokesman for James confirmed Goldis' firing and said it stemmed from workplace rules governing employees' outside activities and public conduct.
"The Office of the Attorney General has rules and protocols for employees who engage in activities that can impact the work, operations, or integrity of the office," the spokesman said in a statement.
"This former employee's flagrant and repeated disregard of these rules and protocols disrupts and undermines our efforts to protect the rights of all New Yorkers," the statement continued.
Goldis has disputed that characterization, saying officials told her she could not "take public legal positions that conflict" with James' stance and accusing the office of trying to force her "into silence."
At the FTC, Goldis' work is expected to align with the agency's recent emphasis on examining whether medical providers or marketers violated federal law by failing to disclose risks or by making misleading claims about the benefits of treatments for minors.
The FTC held a workshop on July 9, titled "The Dangers of ‘Gender-Affirming Care' for Minors," billed as a discussion of "unfair or deceptive trade practices" in that area.
In closing remarks at the event, FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson said the agency was listening to people who say they were harmed.
"I want you to know the FTC hears you. We hear all of you," Ferguson said. "We want to understand what's going on so that if the law is being broken, we can stop it."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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