President-elect Trump's choice of Gale Slater to head the Justice Department's antitrust chief has drawn praise from anti-monopoly advocates and will continue to come under pressure as major lawsuits against Google and Apple progress. He said it sent a strong signal that he would be exposed.
The Irish-born Mr. Slater, an Oxford-trained lawyer and antitrust hawk, served as chief economic adviser to Vice President-elect J.D. Vance last year. During that time, Mr. Vance has called for the breakup of Google, praised FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan (D), and gone after Big Tech.
Mike Davis, a former top lawyer on the Senate Judiciary Committee and founder of the conservative group Internet Accountability Project, said Slater's selection “should make Google shudder.”
“Gail Slater is a close personal friend and the perfect person for President Trump to lead the antitrust division,” Davis told the Post. “She is a rare combination of a brilliant antitrust lawyer and an 'America First' Trump supporter.”
As head of the Justice Department's antitrust division, Slater will inherit a series of high-profile battles. The agency will spearhead the agency's push for remedies after a federal judge ruled in August that Google had an illegal monopoly on online search.
The Justice Department recently asked Google to force it to sell its Chrome web browser, but President Trump has expressed skepticism about the move.
Mr. Slater will succeed Jonathan Cantor, the current head of antitrust law at the Department of Justice. Mr. Canter also drew praise from some conservatives for his aggressive crackdown on Big Tech.
“AAG Jonathan Canter helped steer the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division through a historic shake-up that took on the unchecked Big Tech monopoly that stifles innovation and drives up prices for American households.” said Sasha Howarth, Executive Director of the Surveillance Project.
“It is our sincere hope that the Trump administration will build on that success, and Gail Slater is a strong candidate to continue that effort,” Howarth added.
Elsewhere, Matt Stoller, an outspoken Google critic and researcher at the American Economic Liberties Project, said Slater's selection was “an important step in the way President Trump wants to confront Big Tech.” “It's a powerful statement,” he wrote in X magazine.
In addition to his work with Vance, Slater has recently been advising the Trump transition team on technology and antitrust policy. She also served on the National Economic Council during President Trump's first term. It was also at this time that the Department of Justice first filed a landmark lawsuit against Google's search empire.
Mr. Slater worked in-house at Fox and Roku, and spent a long time as an attorney at the FTC, where he tried to stop Whole Foods from acquiring the Wild Oats grocer and later served as an advisor to then-FTC Commissioner Julie. . Brill.
Despite being seen as an opponent of Big Tech, Slater also worked for the now-defunct industry group the Internet Association, which once represented companies such as Google and Amazon.
The Justice Department also has pending lawsuits targeting Google's alleged digital advertising monopoly and Apple's control of the iPhone, led by Tim Cook.
As the Post reported, Slater was seen as President Trump's front-runner to head the Federal Trade Commission before taking up his position at the Justice Department.
In a post on Truth Social announcing Slater's selection, President Trump suggested that Slater would take on Big Tech.
“Big Tech has been on a rampage for years, stifling competition in our country's most innovative sectors, and, as we all know, using its market power to control not only the rights of Little Tech but also many have cracked down on the rights of Americans!” Trump wrote.
President Trump added, “I was proud to fight these abuses during my first term, and the Justice Department's antitrust team will continue that work under Ms. Gale's leadership.”
