[SAN FRANCISCO] Antitrust enforcers are pushing back against the impact of a broad, Justice Department-wide restructuring plan that would interfere with key White House priorities including enforcement in the tech sector, according to a senior official.
“Reorganisation for the sake of reorganisation means that we just have to make strong arguments about why this proposal is a bad idea, or that proposed idea is more plausible, and also to suggest alternatives,” Roger Alford, the top deputy to antitrust division head Gail Slater, said at a conference in Chicago on Friday (Apr 11).
Justice Department leadership is seeking input on the proposal and “we provided that in executive summary, in detailed summary, in meetings, in phone calls”, Alford said.
In late March, deputy attorney general Todd Blanche proposed agency-wide changes as part of the Department of Government Efficiency objective to slim down all areas of the federal government. Those include closing antitrust field offices in San Francisco and Chicago as well as folding several teams into a centralised policy office.
Justice Department leadership is expected to propose final changes to the White House next week, according to people familiar with the matter. A department spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The proposed cuts come as the division is advancing landmark cases against Apple, Alphabet’s Google, Live Nation Entertainment and Visa, among other companies. The antitrust division has so far been largely exempt from the Trump administration’s sweeping efforts to downsize the federal government.
Boosting efficiency in government is a “laudable goal”, one that has been pursued by previous administrations, Alford said. He added that Slater, an economic policy aid to US Vice-President JD Vance when he was a senator, “has the trust of the leadership within the Justice Department and within the White House”.
In nominating Slater for the role last year, US President Donald Trump highlighted the need to police the tech sector, but Alford said Department of Justice lawyers have their eye on much more.
“Look at the things that matter the most to the average American and are those markets competitive,” Alford said, citing housing, health care, transportation, entertainment and food. “Many of them are not.” BLOOMBERG
