This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes may be in the running for a spot in the administration of President-elect Donald Trump, according to Politico.
Two unnamed sources told the Washington, D.C.-based online publication that Reyes could be tapped to lead the Federal Trade Commission, the agency that regulates business mergers and antitrust practices, including those of big tech companies such as Facebook and Google.
Utah campaign finance filings show Reyes received $10,000 from Facebook and $1,000 from Microsoft in the past election cycle.
Reyes, 45, who was described by Politico as a "rising Republican star" was appointed Utah's top law enforcement officer in 2013 after the resignation of John Swallow, then won election the following year and re-election last year.
Swallow, also a Republican, resigned amid a political scandal that alleged bribery and corruption inside his office.
The scandal was exposed in part after Utah businessman Jeremy Johnson, who had close ties to Swallow and his immediate predecessor, former three-term Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, was slapped with federal criminal charges that grew out of the FTC's investigation into his online-marketing company's business practices.
A Reyes spokesman would neither confirm nor deny the report.
"At this time, Sean 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," Reyes' political director, Alan Crooks, said. "But the Politico story suggests there are some heavy rumors going around in D.C."
Reyes was at Trump Tower in New York on election night, Nov. 8, 2016.
He talked about the experience of being with the Trump family the next day on KNRS Radio's "Rod Arquette Show" and said he'd been asked by many if he wanted, or was angling for, a job in the new administration.
"Absolutely not. I love this job," Reyes told Arquette. "It's 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."
Reyes said there was nothing that would lure him way from Utah, but that if he could see a way for Utah to contribute or help Trump in some way, for example aiding in choosing Supreme Court nominees, he would be "excited to serve in that capacity."
@jenniferdobner