FTC Releases Shutdown Plan, Will Continue To Accept HSR Filings

FTC Commissioners are presidential appointees and are excepted from furlough during the shutdown. According to the shutdown plan, furloughs will be issued on a rolling basis for the staff to properly address the agency’s docket for competition, consumer protection, and other matters pending in litigation. The maximum number of excepted personnel will be 402 (34%) Commission-wide.

The Pre-Merger Notification Office (“PNO”) will continue to accept and process Hart-Scott Rodino (“HSR”) filings and will continue pre-merger investigations with statutory deadlines. The FTC’s shutdown plan recommends continuing to file in the normal transaction timeframe. However, filers should not expect informal guidance and should anticipate reduced PNO hours.

All non-merger investigations will be suspended during the shutdown except as necessary to prevent statutes of limitations from precluding monetary remedies. For litigated matters the FTC will seek stays. If denied, the FTC will staff the minimum required individuals to comply with court orders and protect the government’s legal interests.

The Bureau of Consumer Protection (“BCP”) along with the General Counsel will review consumer protection matters. For emergency consumer protection actions, the FTC may pursue temporary restraining orders or other actions needed to prevent immediate harm or to avoid statutes of limitations lapses. The FTC prioritizes imminent harm and asset-freeze needs in the contingency plan, and will continue litigating where courts require.

The FTC will suspend operations of the Consumer Response Center and intake portals. FOIA processing, rulemaking, most studies and reports, workshops, and most outreach are paused. The public website remains accessible but is only updated to support excepted work. Civil Investigative Demands and subpoenas dates are automatically extended by the number of closure days unless the Commission orders otherwise.

Source: Federal Trade Commission, “Shutdown of Federal Trade Commission Operations Upon Failure of the Congress to Enact Appropriations” (updated September 29, 2025), https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/FTC%20Shutdown%20Plan.pdf.