Enlarge / FTC Chair Lina Khan testifies before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on May 15, 2024, in Washington, DC. (credit: Getty Images | Kevin Dietsch) A US judge ruled against the Federal Trade Commission in a challenge to its rule banning noncompete agreements, saying the FTC lacks "substantive" rulemaking authority. The preliminary ruling only blocks enforcement of the noncompete ban against the plaintiff and other groups that intervened in the case, but it signals that the judge believes the FTC cannot enforce the rule.