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President Donald Trump fired Gail Slater, his prime antitrust enforcer, on Thursday over considerations she was failing to aggressively pursue his affordability agenda, in response to a number of sources.
Slater introduced her departure on X on Thursday, saying she was leaving with “nice unhappiness and abiding hope” and that it was the “honor of a lifetime to serve” in her position. However her ouster was unsurprising to these accustomed to the antitrust division.
Slater, a one-time coverage adviser to Vice President JD Vance, left a string of controversies in her wake, and, in response to conversations Fox Information Digital had with a number of sources, she was seen as too lax on the difficulty of affordability within the eyes of Justice Division management, resulting in her termination.
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Abigail Slater, assistant lawyer basic for the Antitrust Division, speaks to members of the media exterior federal court docket in Washington, D.C., on Monday, April 21, 2025. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg through Getty Photographs / Getty Photographs)
In a single heated controversy, Slater opposed the DOJ settling a lawsuit that may have blocked a merger between Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Juniper Networks. However Lawyer Basic Pam Bondi and nationwide safety officers wished to maneuver ahead with the settlement and overruled Slater, sources mentioned. The sources mentioned the dispute fractured Slater’s relationship with management and have become so contentious that it led to the ouster of two of her deputies.
In November, as a part of the administration’s broader push to decrease client prices, Trump accused “foreign-owned meat packing cartels” of colluding to drive up beef costs, prompting the DOJ antitrust division to reopen a meatpacking case first introduced throughout his earlier administration.
The case is centered on bringing the worth of meat down, however the antitrust division’s investigation has been transferring slowly underneath Slater, irritating management, sources mentioned.
Lawyer Basic Pam Bondi conducts a information convention on the Division of Justice on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Name, Inc through Getty Photographs / Getty Photographs)
Requested for touch upon Slater’s exit, Bondi reiterated Trump’s antitrust priorities in a press release to Fox Information Digital.
“On behalf of the Division of Justice, we thank Gail Slater for her service to the Antitrust Division, which works to guard customers, promote affordability, and broaden financial alternative,” Bondi mentioned.
Different inside disputes have concerned Slater’s choice to journey with workers to Paris, regardless of objections from management, and prematurely saying the departure of her chief of workers on social media earlier than Bondi overruled Slater and prolonged the staffer’s tenure.
A few of the criticisms made about Slater’s strategy to decreasing prices are in pressure with concepts she outwardly promoted. Slater mentioned in November that common People’ expenditures on housing, transportation and meals had been at “entrance of thoughts” and that her division had been working exhausting “to decrease prices for American households.”
However one supply summed up the interior grievances with Slater, saying she was “unwilling” to coordinate and cooperate with DOJ management and didn’t prioritize Trump’s targets of “financial prosperity and affordability” zealously sufficient.
Slater declined to remark for this story.
The antitrust division, which can now be led by appearing chief Omeed Aseffi, is understood for dealing with high-profile civil litigation with main tech corporations, together with Google, Apple and Meta, and is chargeable for reviewing and approving large-scale company mergers.
Upon nominating Slater, a longtime antitrust lawyer, Trump touted her populist bona fides, noting her ties to Vance and her work on his Nationwide Financial Council. Trump praised her on the time for being robust on large tech, specifically, saying she would look out for so-called little tech corporations and “Make America Aggressive Once more.”
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President Donald Trump DOJ’s antitrust division chief nominee Abigail Slater testifies in a Senate listening to. (Fox Information)
A few of Slater’s allies have indicated that in her time on the DOJ, she confronted headwinds from lobbyists who say they’re aligned with Trump however, in actuality, shun a populist agenda.
Roger Alford, Slater’s former No. 2, mentioned final 12 months that she labored to “stay true to President Trump’s populist message that resonated with working-class People.”
“Antitrust enforcement that applies equal justice underneath the legislation can ship tangible outcomes for tens of millions of People,” Alford mentioned. “The MAGA-in-name-only lobbyists and the DOJ officers enabling them are pursuing a special agenda.”
Slater has additionally, nevertheless, leaned on former Democratic lobbyist and antitrust hawk Luther Lowe for out of doors recommendation, two sources mentioned. Lowe has donated no less than $150,000 to Democrats and none to Republicans, in response to public data. Luther denied advising Slater in a press release.
“I’ve identified Gail Slater professionally for years, however I’ve by no means served as an outdoor advisor to her in any capability,” Lowe mentioned. “Any suggestion in any other case is fake.”
One other level of rivalry has been Slater’s communication with Robert Barnes, a vehemently anti-Trump lawyer, two sources mentioned. Mike Davis, a Trump ally who has been celebrating Slater’s exit, additionally instructed Fox Information Digital she had been partaking with Barnes.
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Slater had been welcomed into the antitrust division final March after gaining bipartisan assist in the course of the Senate nomination course of and being confirmed 78-19.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, mentioned on X he was “sorry to see her depart” and that she appeared out for rural America, whereas Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Mn., likewise referred to as Slater’s exit a “main loss,” noting that Slater was in cost when the DOJ secured a landmark court docket victory in opposition to Google.
