Google skeptic Reyes seen fading from race to lead FTC

The race to lead one of America's top competition watchdogs just lost a front-runner. That may be good news for Google.

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, who last year urged antitrust officials to consider re-opening an investigation into the search practices of Alphabet Inc.'s Google, was one of President Donald Trump's top candidates to lead the Federal Trade Commission earlier this year, people familiar with the matter said at the time.

Now he's out of the running, said two people close to the White House and another person familiar with the matter. FTC Acting Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen remains under consideration, according to one of the people. The White House is also considering Washington antitrust lawyer Joseph Simons, two of the people said.