In a strategic move that signals President Trump's renewed commitment to tackling Big Tech monopolies, Gail Slater, an economic policy advisor to Senator and Vice President-elect J.
D. Vance, has been nominated to serve as the assistant attorney general for the Department of Justices Antitrust Division.
This nomination is seen as a crucial step in addressing the unfinished business from Trump's first term.
According to The Federalist, Slater, who previously served as a tech policy advisor during Trump's first term, is a seasoned FTC enforcement attorney and a leading authority on antitrust law, particularly as it pertains to Big Tech. Her colleagues, including those who have worked alongside her in the fight against Big Tech, regard her as an effective advocate for the enforcement of antitrust laws, which are vital to American competitiveness and innovation.
Slater, like other free-market conservatives, understands that free markets necessitate functioning markets. However, when Big Tech monopolies such as Alphabet (Google and YouTube), Amazon, Apple, and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) exploit their market dominance to suppress competition, close small businesses, and silence dissenting voices, the markets cease to function freely. Slater's nomination is therefore a welcome development for all, except perhaps the tech giants and their lobbyists in Washington D.C.
Slater's impressive legal career, which includes an education at Oxford and a stint at the prestigious law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where she specialized in antitrust, makes her an ideal candidate to lead the DOJs Antitrust Division. This division is tasked with enforcing antitrust laws and holding accountable anticompetitive actors in our economy, especially the most significant and dangerous ones: Big Tech.
The past actions of Big Tech giants cannot be forgotten. In 2021, Googles YouTube and Metas Facebook and Instagram banned Trump from their platforms, effectively censoring and silencing the then-sitting president of the United States. This was after an election in which Mark Zuckerberg and his wife reportedly spent around $400 million in a campaign against President Trump, and Googles search engine, a monopoly, allegedly manipulated results against Trump. These actions underscore the need for stringent checks on their power.
However, the enforcement of antitrust laws isn't solely about the unfair treatment of conservatives. Slater is expected to guide the departments antitrust law enforcement agenda with a vision for a fairer, more competitive economy that prioritizes U.S. innovation, small business growth, and a level playing field. The intimidation and suppression of competitors and small businesses by trillion-dollar Big Tech monopolies are detrimental to the American economy, particularly to small businesses, which make up nearly half of the U.S. private-sector employee workforce.
Big Tech monopolies have shown a lack of commitment to an America First vision. Despite being based in the United States and benefiting from our world-class talent, finances, security, and creativity, these globalist corporations owe no allegiance to our country. They have shown a willingness to align with Chinas CCP and its military, facilitate illicit activities that undermine U.S. national security and economic interests, and spread harmful material and products that endanger children. Slater is well aware of the threat posed by Big Tech and other unchecked corporate powers and is prepared to confront these bad actors with the full force of the justice system.
The Justice Department has several ongoing cases against Big Tech, including cases that could lead to the breakup of Google due to its search engine monopoly and its illegal control of the online ads market. Amazon is also under federal scrutiny for its e-commerce dominance, which it uses to unfairly compete against smaller companies, especially in retail. While President Biden's leadership has been widely criticized, his continuation of Trumps stance on Big Tech from his first term is one area where he got federal policy nearly right. Holding Big Tech accountable for its actions and its anticompetitive behavior should be a bipartisan consensus, but it requires decisive leadership in the executive branch.
The Justice Department has a significant task ahead in the next Trump administration. Attorney General-designate Pam Bondi will be tasked with cleaning up a department that was thoroughly politicized under Obama and Biden. A key part of President Trumps agenda will be restoring a free and fair market that doesnt discriminate based on ideology or political party and allows American small businesses to innovate, grow, and flourish.
Trump, in nominating Gail Slater, stated: Big Tech has run wild for years, stifling competition in our most innovative sector and, as we all know, using its market power to crack down on the rights of so many Americans. Slater's nomination is a testament to this sentiment, and she is indeed the ideal choice for the job. The Senate Judiciary Committee and the full chamber must confirm her promptly.
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