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Slater's commitment to enforcement likely to be questioned

by

Senate panel

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Democrats are concerned about DOJ's independence under

Trump

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Slater's past roles include work with Big Tech companies

By Jody Godoy

Feb 12 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's pick to

oversee the U.S. Department of Justice's blockbuster antitrust

cases against Alphabet's Google and Apple ( AAPL )

will have her commitment to enforcement tested by a Senate panel

at her confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

Gail Slater, a veteran antitrust attorney and economic adviser

to Vice President JD Vance, would lead the DOJ division that

enforces laws against illegal monopolies and anticompetitive

business behavior, if confirmed as assistant attorney general of

the antitrust division.

Democrats on the committee are expected to press Slater for a

commitment to enforcement and maintaining independence from the

White House. In his first three weeks in office, Trump has

overseen a transformation at the DOJ and Federal Bureau of

Investigation that critics say threatens the agency's

traditional independence from partisan politics.

Senator Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey who is the

ranking member on the Senate's antitrust committee, expressed

concern ahead of the hearing about how efforts by Tesla

CEO and Trump adviser Elon Musk to shrink the federal workforce

would affect the antitrust division's work.

"Any efforts by Musk and Trump to fire or push out federal

employees charged with enforcing our antitrust laws will hurt

Americans at a time when families are struggling to make ends

meet, pay their rents and mortgages, and buy groceries," Booker

said.

U.S. Senator Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont, will look

for a commitment from Slater to continue the Biden

administration's work on lowering prices in healthcare,

agriculture and housing, a spokesperson said.

The DOJ's antitrust division and the Federal Trade

Commission started cracking down on consolidation in the tech

industry during Trump's first term, and continued under former

President Joe Biden.

The DOJ sued Google for allegedly dominating online advertising

technology markets, and won a landmark ruling in another case

finding that Google holds an illegal monopoly in online search.

Along with state attorneys general, the DOJ has also accused

Apple ( AAPL ), LiveNation and Visa of maintaining illegal

monopolies.

Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota who

previously led the Senate antitrust subcommittee, said she would

be asking Slater "about how she intends to independently and

consistently enforce the antitrust laws to promote competition,

lower costs, and protect consumers."

She added: "That includes continuing the cases the Antitrust

Division is currently litigating, blocking anticompetitive

mergers, and stopping price fixing that raises prices."

U.S. Senator Mike Lee, a Utah Republican who leads the

antitrust subcommittee, said in a statement that Slater will

"successfully lead the Antitrust Division in defending American

consumers and continue President Trump's first administration

work to rein in Big Tech monopolies."

Slater has worked at Fox Corp ( FOXA ) and Roku ( ROKU ),

and represented Big Tech companies at a now-defunct trade group

called the Internet Association. She began her career at law

firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and spent 10 years at the

FTC.