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The head of the antitrust division is not in the US Department of Justice. Gail Slater, former adviser to JD Vance and VP of Fox Corp, is reportedly feuding with Attorney General Pam Bondi. Their long-standing feud is said to be centered on Slater’s skepticism about corporate mergers.
“It is with great sadness and lasting hope that I leave my role as (Assistant Attorney General) for Antitrust today,” Slater posted at X. “It will truly be the honor of a lifetime to serve in this role.”
Although Slater technically resigned, The Guardian reports forcing him out. The fallout is said to be due to his differences with Bondi (which only yesterday yelled at, insulted and turned aside through the DOJ hearing stone pelting in the Epstein files). In recent weeks, Bondi has reportedly reiterated to the White House that Slater’s views on the direction of the antitrust division make the pair’s relationship irreconcilable.
Attorney General Pam Bondi (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) (McNamee win via Getty Images)
Tensions reportedly began to flare last summer, when Slater sought to block a merger between Hewlett-Packard Enterprise and Juniper Networks. He opposed the deal over concerns it would create a duopoly in cloud computing and wireless networking. Additionally, Slater reportedly told Bondi that US intelligence had not raised any concerns about blocking the merger. However, CIA Director John Ratcliffe later MANILA that blocking it would pose national security risks because it could lead to the loss of business to China. The Trump administration’s merger-friendly DOJ ultimately approved the deal.
Along with Bondi, Slater oversaw the DOJ’s review of the Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. In December, Trump said he would be involved in the regulatory review. That followed intense lobbying by Netflix and Paramount, with the latter launching a hostile takeover bid. Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reports that the department is investigate whether Netflix is involved of anticompetitive practices during the process.
Slater’s firing also comes weeks before the DOJ’s antitrust trial against Ticketmaster owner Live Nation. The department’s lawsuit was filed during the Biden administration. It claims that Live Nation operates as a monopoly, harming competition, fans, industry promoters and artists.
