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Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, who was said to be in talks to lead the Federal Trade Commission, is apparently no longer considered a candidate for the post in the Trump administration.
Two sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News this week that Reyes, a Republican, is out of the running for top spot with the agency, which oversees consumer-protection regulations and commercial business practices.
Dan Burton, spokesman for the Utah attorney general's office, said "nobody has called us" with that announcement.
"I have no idea," he said. "It was an unsubstantiated report on Bloomberg."
The Salt Lake Tribune could not reach Reyes or his political director, Alan Crooks, for comment. Crooks told Bloomberg on Thursday that he wasn't sure if the attorney general would get the post, but that "he has been an early and vocal supporter of Donald Trump, and it's our understanding that he's still in the mix."
Crooks told The Tribune in January that Reyes "has not applied for the FTC job, he has not submitted his résumé for the FTC job, nor has he been interviewed for the FTC job." He labeled early reports "heavy rumors."
Reyes stepped into his current post with the Utah attorney general's office in 2013 after his predecessor, John Swallow, resigned amid accusations of bribery and corruption. Swallow was later acquitted on all charges.
In 2014, Reyes won election; he was re-elected last year. He's received a flood of more than $100,000 in campaign contributions in recent months — since rumors began swirling about his possible FTC chairmanship.
Reyes spent election night in November at Trump Tower in New York and said the next day on Utah's KNRS Radio that he's got "the greatest job I've ever had being the A.G. for the state of Utah. I'm passionate about it, and I will commit that I want to stay here."
Acting FTC Chairwoman Maureen Ohlhausen and Joseph Simons, a former director with the agency, remain under consideration for the FTC position, according to Bloomberg.
Twitter: @CourtneyLTanner