The FTC’s three Democratic members were in favor of adopting the regulation, while its two Republican members were against it.
…
“The FTC estimated that the ban would boost wages by between $400 billion and $488 billion over 10 years.”
Employers are required to tell people that existing noncompetes are void:
The new rule makes it illegal for employers to include the agreements in employment contracts and requires companies with active noncompete agreements to inform workers that they are void. The agency received more than 26,000 comments about the rule after it was proposed some 16 months ago. The rule will take effect after 120 days, although business groups have promised to challenge it in court, which could delay implementation.
/edit I realized that what I was saying before didnt make sense
Supreme Court appointments are for life (or you quit) and it is generally very hard to replace you. The effect that a replacement on the court has, is upwards of 20 years so the impact is lasting. FTC Chair can be replaced by the President as long as Senate approves. Usually FTC picks are closely tied to the same industry the FTC governs. Its the so called “revolving door” where the CEO of say, Verizon becomes FTC Head or vice versa.