House Democrats have demanded a briefing from the US Justice Department over the removal of Gail Slater as head of the antitrust division. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House judiciary committee, and Jerry Nadler sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi seeking information on the role of Trump-connected lobbyists in Slater's departure.
Slater was forced to resign this month after tensions with the Trump administration over her attempt to block a $14bn merger between Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Juniper Networks. The Justice Department later dropped the lawsuit in favour of a settlement. Democrats expressed concern that the antitrust division now lacks principled experts to handle major cases.
The letter also raised questions about other mergers, including American Express Global Business Travel and CWT Holdings, Live Nation and Ticketmaster, and bids by Netflix and Paramount to acquire Warner Bros Discovery. It noted that the dismissal of the Hewlett Packard Enterprise case may have prevented disclosure of contacts between DOJ officials and Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm with ties to President Trump.
Roger Alford, former principal deputy to Slater, has warned that firms like Live Nation have hired lobbyists with ties to the administration to defend their monopoly abuses. An investigation into Slater's removal could be politically sensitive, as it may involve individuals like Mike Davis, a Republican litigator retained by Hewlett Packard Enterprise who took credit for Slater's ouster on social media.
