The White House says President Barack Obama intends to designate Edith Ramirez to be chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, the watchdog agency charged with protecting consumers from anti-competitive or deceptive business practices.

Ramirez has been an FTC commissioner since 2010. She will replace Jon Leibowitz, a Democrat who announced his resignation this month after four years at the helm of the commission.

Ramirez will be one of two Democrats on the commission until Obama names a replacement for Leibowitz on the five-member panel.

The White House lauded Ramirez as instrumental in ensuring strong competition in the high technology industry. She has been a lawyer in Los Angeles, where she handled antitrust and intellectual property issues. The FTC has recently handled high-profile cases involving Google and cellphone privacy.