Mamdani adviser, Warren in the hot seat as collapse of Roomba maker shifts data to China
Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Biden FTC Chair Lina Khan are taking heat for helping kill a deal an Amazon-iRobot deal, leading to the company going bankrupt and falling under Chinese control.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and former Biden Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan are taking heat for helping to kill a deal for Amazon to acquire Roomba creator iRobot, ultimately leading to the company going bankrupt and likely falling under Chinese control.
Michael Lucci, founder and CEO of State Armor, a U.S. national security watchdog group, ripped into Warren and Khan over their opposition to the deal. Lucci told Fox News Digital that Warren and Khan’s opposition directly contributed to China’s "growing espionage foothold inside American homes" and that "now it’ll be even harder for American families to avoid CCP spy devices."
In January 2024, iRobot announced that its deal to be acquired by Amazon had collapsed. At the time, iRobot cited regulatory difficulties, especially in Europe, for the deal falling through. In a joint Amazon-iRobot statement, the companies said the merger had "no path to regulatory approval in the European Union."
This followed intense opposition from progressive lawmakers, including Warren, over "concerns about Amazon’s anticompetitive practices that put consumers and their privacy at risk."
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Left to right: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Chinese President Xi Jingping and former Biden FTC Chair Lina Khan. (Cheryl Senter/AP Photo; Ton Molina/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The Massachusetts senator said, "I have serious concerns about the Amazon-iRobot deal – dominant companies like Amazon shouldn’t be allowed to just buy their way out of competing."
"The FTC should oppose this proposed merger to protect competition, lower consumer prices, and rein in Amazon’s well-documented anticompetitive activities," said Warren.
The FTC under Khan, who served as a top advisor to New York City socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani's transition team, also opposed the deal.
At the time, the FTC released a statement after the Amazon-iRobot merger fell through in which it said, "We are pleased that Amazon and iRobot have abandoned their proposed transaction."
