Antitrust Under Trump: April 2025 Updates

AGENCY PERSONNEL SHIFTS

Mark Meador Approved as FTC Commissioner

• On April 10, the US Senate confirmed the nomination of Mark Meador as a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), with a vote of 50-46.

Former FTC Commissioners Challenge Terminations, Face Implications of DC Circuit Decision

• Former Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter filed complaints in the US District Court for the District of Columbia contesting their removal, relying on the US Supreme Court’s 1935 precedent in Humphrey’s Executor that protects “independent” regulatory agency leadership from presidential removal power.
• In a 2-1 vote, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit allowed similar agency-related terminations of agency officials from the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board.
• The majority stated that the agencies currently perform executive functions that the FTC did not at the time of Humphrey’s Executor and, therefore, officials may be lawfully removed by the president under his executive power. The decision outlines a relevant question for Bedoya’s and Slaughter’s cases: whether the 2025 FTC performs executive functions unlike the 1935 FTC.

POLICY PRIORITIES

New DOJ Partial to Populist Antitrust

• When asked about the Trump administration’s “America First” movement as it applies to antitrust, Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater indicated that the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) would work to further the goals of the movement, including its focus on protecting average households and workers.
• The DOJ’s Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Roger Alford said the movement focuses on the concerns of the average American citizen and the industries in which they are actually spending their money, implying that those industries are a top priority for the Antitrust Division.
• Alford explained that America First industries of focus include housing, healthcare, insurance, transportation, food and groceries, and entertainment.

FTC Remains Concerned with Roll-Ups, Not Necessarily From Private Equity

• Jordan Andrew, deputy assistant director of the FTC’s Mergers I Division, said that he would be surprised if the agency only focused on private equity firms when looking at industry roll-ups and that he believed the agency would use every tool in its statutory toolkit to pursue cases against roll-ups.

DOJ Hosts Roundtables on Labor and Entertainment

• Assistant Attorney General Slater met with members of Teamsters unions on April 4 to discuss their personal experiences with non-compete agreements, no-poach agreements, and other unfair labor practices they have encountered.
• On the same day, Slater met with advocates, policymakers, and market participants in the music industry to discuss anticompetitive conduct in the entertainment industry, indicating that the DOJ will likely continue to look closely at this industry and pursue its suit against Live Nation.

HSR UPDATES

Agencies May Consider Revisions to HSR Rules

• The FTC and DOJ are open to considering changing the new Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) filing rules created by the previous administration, according to FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson.
• The agency heads may consider reforms to the rules if the information submitted by companies under the new rules is not useful to the agencies when reviewing transactions or if experience demonstrates that compliance is unjustifiably burdensome.

FTC Says More-Detailed HSR Form Can Prevent Second Requests

• David Shaw, principal deputy director of the Bureau of Competition, said that the granular information requested by the new HSR form can allow enforcers to evaluate a deal quickly and to move on when there are no anticompetitive concerns.
• Shaw explained that the information required in the new form is information the FTC sometimes would not receive until late in the initial 30-day HSR waiting period in filings made under the old form, and he stated that getting the information on day one allows the FTC to act more confidently.
• Shaw said that the Trump administration is looking for “off ramps at every step in the [HSR] process,” and indicated that parties should request early termination so that the FTC can move on when a deal raises no concerns.

MERGER REMEDIES

DOJ Further Clarifies That Remedies Are One of Its Enforcement Tools, Calls for Remedy Proposals to Be Provided Alongside HSR Filings Where Appropriate

• DOJ Deputy Director of Civil Enforcement George Nierlich recommends that parties propose remedies when they file their HSR form in order to shorten the review period for transactions that raise competitive concerns.
• Nierlich advises that parties turn to the “fix-it first” approach in order to save time when they are aware of areas of potential concern and explains that the DOJ will review such remedy proposals in terms of whether they will succeed and ultimately fix the competitive concern.

DOJ Avoids Chilling Dealmaking

• Roger Alford has suggested that the Antitrust Division should avoid creating bottlenecks in the merger review process by bringing complaints unless the deals are “perfectly clean,” arguing that such an approach will ultimately chill dealmaking.
• Alford further advises parties to present deals that are as clean as possible and to bring forward proposals to resolve competitive issues, indicating that the DOJ is open to negotiating remedies if there are issues that can be resolved through a consent order.

Merging Parties Should Prove Fix Will Work, Says FTC

• Albert Teng, counsel to the director of the Bureau of Competition at the FTC, explained that because merging parties have greater information than the antitrust agencies around a proposed remedy and a unique knowledge of the market and competitors, they should bear the burden of proving that a proposed remedy will work.
• Teng further argued that because divestiture buyers may find an acquisition profitable, even if the business does not thrive, and because the risk of the remedy failing will be felt predominately by the public, they should bear the burden to demonstrate the remedy will be successful and preserve competition.
• These statements are in line with those from administrations that preceded President Biden.

FTC Open to Private Equity Divestiture Buyers

• During the American Bar Association 2025 Antitrust Law Section Spring Meeting, agency personnel noted that, although the FTC will evaluate each situation on a case-by-case basis, the agency is not ideologically opposed to considering private equity firms as divestiture buyers and would consider them valid options in a divestiture.
• Biden-era regulators expressed concern about the competitive ability of businesses divested to private equity, but the current administration does not appear to share the same reservations regarding private equity.

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

President Trump’s Economic Golden Age Requires Cutting Red Tape

• President Trump signed an executive order on April 9 requiring federal agencies to consult with FTC Chair Ferguson and US Attorney General Pam Bondi to identify and eliminate statutes and regulations that reduce competition, entrepreneurship, and innovation, or create monopolies or barriers to new market entry.
• In response, the FTC has launched a public inquiry into the impact of federal regulations that may be considered barriers to competition and to the American economy. Members of the public, such as workers, consumers, investors, and businesses, are encouraged to identify regulations with an anticompetitive effect.
• This order came soon after the DOJ launched an Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force on March 27, which will similarly focus on getting rid of burdensome state and federal laws and regulations that limit competition and economic growth.
• Assistant Attorney General Slater and the DOJ stated that the task force will seek to eliminate unnecessary barriers to competition, reduce compliance costs, and promote opportunities for small businesses and American families.

As the Trump administration’s approach to antitrust takes shape through political appointments, policy statements, speeches, and enforcement actions, McDermott’s antitrust team continues to track new developments. We are providing important updates on issues pertinent to clients. Stay tuned for more at-a-glance reviews of relevant policy as it is being created.

Our earlier insights on antitrust under the Trump administration can be viewed here.