Gail Slater resigns as head of DOJ antitrust division, injecting uncertainty into Trump-era enforcement
WASHINGTON — Gail Slater, the Trump administration’s head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, said she is stepping down less than a year after being appointed by President Donald Trump, leaving a major enforcement arm with few senior leaders as it pursues cases against some of the world’s largest companies.
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Slater, who was confirmed in March to lead the division that polices illegal monopolies and anticompetitive conduct, announced her decision on X, calling it “with great sadness and abiding hope.” “It was indeed the honour of a lifetime to serve in this role,” she wrote. The White House referred questions on her departure to the Justice Department. Vice President JD Vance’s office declined to comment.
Her exit comes amid internal churn and political pressure around antitrust enforcement in Washington. Reuters and other outlets reported in July that two of Slater’s deputies were fired for insubordination after a settlement allowing Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks to proceed. The episode laid bare a power struggle inside the administration between officials pushing aggressive antitrust action and dealmakers seeking to leverage influence.
The division’s leadership ranks have thinned further following the departure of its head of civil litigation this week. Slater’s move adds uncertainty for ongoing cases and investigations as companies under scrutiny have increasingly hired Trump-connected lobbyists to try to shape outcomes of their matters.
Slater, born in Dalkey, previously served as an economic adviser to Vance while he was in the Senate and worked in the White House during Trump’s first term. Before that, she spent a decade as an antitrust lawyer at the Federal Trade Commission, where she brought cases to block mergers including Whole Foods’ acquisition of organic grocer Wild Oats.
Upon taking the DOJ post, Slater said her priority was to use antitrust enforcement to support Americans struggling with high living costs. Under her watch, the department opened probes into egg producers and the meatpacking industry last year, targeting alleged collusion and consolidation that critics say contribute to price spikes for household staples.
The antitrust division also continued the U.S. crackdown on Big Tech that began during Trump’s first term, pressing forward with major cases against Alphabet’s Google and Apple over allegations of market power abuses that regulators say stifle competition and innovation.
It was not immediately clear who will lead the antitrust division on an acting basis or how Slater’s departure might affect the timing of settlements, trials or new complaints. The DOJ did not respond to questions on succession plans.
Slater’s resignation underscores the tensions shaping competition policy across the administration: a stated mandate to challenge concentration in key industries on one side, and on the other, a more transactional, deal-driven approach cheered by parts of corporate America. With headline matters pending across technology, food supply and industrial sectors, the next leader of the antitrust division will inherit a heavy docket and a political crosscurrent that shows little sign of abating.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
