Alvaro Bedoya voted in to fill final FTC vacancy

May 11 (UPI) -- Lawmakers voted Wednesday in favor of appointing Alvaro Bedoya to fill the Federal Trade Commission's fifth and final seat, the regulator confirmed.

Bedoya still needs to be confirmed by President Joe Biden before officially filling the vacancy.

The 40-year-old lawyer is a co-founder of Georgetown University's Center on Privacy and Technology. He also worked for former Minnesota Sen. Al Franken.

Vice President Kamala Harris cast the deciding ballot, after the vote unfolded along party lines, resulting in a 50-50 split.

"I am deeply grateful to President Biden and Vice President Harris for the trust they have placed in me, and to leader Schumer for moving my nomination forward," Bedoya said in a statement.

The FTC has had a vacancy since Biden became president, too often resulting in a a 2-2 deadlock that limited the commission's ability to make changes.

"Alvaro's knowledge, experience and energy will be a great asset to the FTC as we pursue our critical work. I'm excited to begin working with him, along with our other Commissioners, once his appointment is made final by President Biden," FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement.

Khan took over her post in June.

"Today, the Senate moved forward on Alvaro Bedoya's nomination as @FTC Commissioner," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on Twitter.

"This is vital because we need a functioning @FTC to fight rising costs and price gouging. And it's especially urgent with Americans seeing higher gas prices despite massive profits for Big Oil."

Business groups were generally critical of Bedoya's appointment.

"Today's vote sends a clear message to businesses of all sizes: buckle up," U.S. Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Neil Bradley said.