The Senate on Thursday approved Democratic Federal Trade Commissioner Rohit Chopra to take over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, leaving the trade commission in a political tie.
Chopra, a prominent tech critic who will now become director of a key financial-services regulator, was the third Democrat on the five-person commission that oversees much of federal tech policy.
The FTC is currently pursuing an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook and investigating Amazon, although the FTC's two Republican commissioners have expressed concerns about many of the moves that Democrats have taken to rein in tech companies.
The two sides may now deadlock on significant issues, including measures Khan and the other Democrats have approved in new monthly public hearings.
This month, however, President Joe Biden nominated privacy hawk Alvaro Bedoya to take over Chopra's spot.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been taking a more aggressive stance in reining in fintech companies under the Biden administration, including a recent penalty imposed on fintech lender GreenSky.