Gail Slater Steps Down as Antitrust Chief Amid Tensions with White House

The resignation of Gail Slater, the head of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) antitrust division, has sent shockwaves through Washington, raising concerns about the direction of US antitrust policy under the Trump administration. Ms. Slater’s departure is seen as a result of her increasingly strained relationship with top White House officials, who have been pushing for more lenient policies on big mergers and monopolies. Ms. Slater’s tenure was marked by a number of high-profile investigations into some of America’s largest corporations, including tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon. Her team also launched an investigation into the proposed merger between AT&T and Time Warner, which was eventually blocked by the FTC. However, in recent months, Ms. Slater has found herself at odds with White House officials over issues such as trade policy and competition law. Some sources suggest that her approach to antitrust enforcement was seen as too aggressive by some within the administration, while others accuse the Trump team of trying to roll back key provisions of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Ms. Slater’s departure has raised questions about who will take the reins at the FTC’s antitrust division and what priorities they will pursue. The agency is currently working on a number of high-profile cases, including an investigation into Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods Market. The White House has declined to comment on Ms. Slater’s departure or her future plans. However, some analysts predict that her successor will face intense pressure from the administration to scale back antitrust enforcement and prioritize business-friendly policies over competition law. In a statement, outgoing FTC Chairman Joe Simons praised Ms. Slater for her dedication to enforcing the antitrust laws and urged her colleagues to “continue the important work of protecting American consumers.”