Democrats Criticize Trump Administration Over Antitrust Resignation
Democratic leaders are openly criticizing the Trump administration following the resignation of Gale Slater, the Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Law. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) have sent a joint letter describing Slater as a “deeply respected antitrust leader.” Meanwhile, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) has lamented Slater’s departure, calling it a “huge loss” for bipartisan efforts in antitrust enforcement, noting that he was one of the few candidates to receive support from Trump.
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) also weighed in, referring to Slater as “one of the few candidates with bipartisan backing from President Trump.” She expressed concerns about “a small army of MAGA-aligned lawyers and lobbyists,” who are allegedly prioritizing merger approvals for profit, which in turn raises prices and stifles innovation.
In a related note, Gigi Song, who was unsuccessful in her bid for an FCC position, is now registered as a lobbyist for Disney. She remarked on LinkedIn about Slater’s exit, expressing disappointment and pointing to him as one of the most honest figures in the administration who genuinely believed in authentic antitrust enforcement. She speculated that his removal aligns with the desires of big monopolies.
Interestingly, despite claiming to oppose monopoly influence, Mr. Song reportedly attempted to aid Disney in lobbying Slater regarding a merger with Fubo, a competitor to Disney’s subsidiaries like ESPN and Hulu. Allegedly, Song was compensated $110,000 for his merger-related work, while Slater approved a deal involving ESPN that further consolidated Disney’s hold on sports streaming.
Reports suggest that Slater’s connections have raised eyebrows concerning internet censorship issues. Recently, it was mentioned that he has links to the “Transatlantic High-Level Working Group on Online Content Moderation,” based at UPenn’s Annenberg Center for Public Policy.
A news report indicated that Slater had sought outside counsel from Luther Rowe, a lobbyist with significant political donations. Rowe, the former chief lobbyist for Yelp and current lobbyist for Y Combinator, has contributed more than $150,000 to Democratic causes. Notably, both companies have been involved in discussions around major antitrust issues impacting big names like Google and Apple.
Tim Wu, a law professor at Columbia and former Biden adviser, commented that Slater’s removal is indicative of a troubling shift within the Republican Party away from prioritizing the middle class, fair law enforcement, and antitrust focus. He sees it as evidence of a decline in the values of the New Right and suggested this situation isn’t good for the country.
However, Wu’s support for antitrust measures has been critiqued as being disconnected from safeguarding free speech online. He once authored a paper questioning the relevance of the First Amendment, particularly considering concerns around misinformation and fake news, which he often associates with nefarious political movements.
The only noted instance of “corruption” tied to Slater’s firing appears to stem from the Justice Department’s opposition to a merger between Hewlett-Packard Enterprise and Juniper Networks. Notably, Trump’s CIA Director John Ratcliffe had voiced that blocking this merger posed a national security threat and questioned the lack of consultation in the decision, alleging that Slater misrepresented national security issues.
