Gail Slater Out as DOJ Antitrust Chief After Clashes with AG Bondi The head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division has departed. Gail Slater, a former adviser to JD Vance and Fox Corporation executive, has left her post following reported clashes with Attorney General Pam Bondi. While Slater stated she resigned, calling it the honor of a lifetime, reports indicate she was forced out due to fundamental disagreements with Bondi over corporate merger policy. The longstanding friction between Slater and Bondi reportedly came to a head in recent weeks, with Bondi telling the White House their working relationship was irreconcilable. This fallout occurs against a backdrop of controversy for Bondi, who recently faced a contentious congressional hearing regarding the DOJ’s handling of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. The core of the dispute centered on Slater’s more skeptical approach to major corporate mergers. Tensions are said to have begun last summer when Slater moved to block the merger between Hewlett-Packard Enterprise and Juniper Networks. Slater argued the deal would create a duopoly in cloud computing and wireless networking and reportedly informed Bondi that U.S. intelligence agencies had no objections. However, CIA Director John Ratcliffe later contended blocking the merger posed a national security risk by potentially ceding business to China. The merger-friendly Trump administration ultimately approved the deal. Slater’s departure is particularly significant as she was jointly overseeing the DOJ’s high-profile review of Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The review has drawn direct attention from former President Trump, who stated he would be involved. The process has been marked by intense lobbying, including a hostile takeover bid for Warner by Paramount. Earlier this month, it was reported the DOJ is also investigating whether Netflix engaged in anticompetitive tactics during the merger process. The timing of Slater’s exit is notable, coming just weeks before the DOJ is set to begin a major antitrust trial against Live Nation, the owner of Ticketmaster. The lawsuit, originally filed during the Biden administration, accuses Live Nation of operating as a monopoly that harms competition, fans, promoters, and artists. Slater’s removal signals a firm direction for the antitrust division under the current administration, prioritizing a more permissive stance on corporate consolidation, particularly when framed alongside national security or economic competitiveness arguments against China. Her skepticism towards major deals, exemplified by the HPE-Juniper case and her role in the Netflix-Warner review, placed her at odds with the leadership’s vision. The move consolidates Bondi’s control over the department’s approach to antitrust enforcement as it navigates several landmark cases.
