Bloomberg Law - Antitrust Enforcement to Survive Through States, Private Parties
Legal director Sandeep Vaheesan explains that despite weakening federal antitrust leadership, enforcement can continue through state attorneys general and private actors, underscoring that the broader antimonopoly movement does not depend solely on the executive branch.
Further diminishing hopes of economic populism during President Donald Trump’s second term, the White House ousted Department of Justice antitrust chief Gail Slater last month. She had at least rhetorically represented a continuation of the antitrust renaissance that began in the Biden years. But neither the abruptness nor significance of her dismissal should be overstated. For the past year, the Trump administration has shown practically no interest in trustbusting.
Yet not all is lost. The executive branch is only one of several players involved in US antitrust enforcement. The others—state attorneys general, consumers, workers, and independent businesses—will continue the fight against…