Taxpayer Watchdog Urges Caution on Antitrust Following Nomination Announcement

For Immediate Release

Contact: Kara Zupkus (224) 456-0257

December 6, 2024

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Gail Slater to head the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s Antitrust Division. “Big Tech has run wild for years, stifling competition in our most innovative sector and, as we all know, using its market power to crack down on the rights of so many Americans, as well as those of Little Tech!” Trump wrote in his announcement on Truth Social.

In response, Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) President David Williams offered the following comment:

“TPA is concerned that President-elect Trump seems inclined to continue the current administration’s ideological crusade against the tech sector, one of the most important and productive American sectors, and one that employs millions of Americans. The language of his announcement is far too close to that of Jonathan Kanter, the current head of antitrust at DOJ, who has played no small role in effectuating the failed economic agenda of the Biden administration. His remarks do not accurately reflect the state of competition in tech markets, and he should remember that ill-conceived antitrust suits ultimately stifle competition and harm consumers.

“Conservative groups like TPA have spent the last four years pushing back against Biden’s antitrust agenda, as carried out by Kanter and Lina Khan, his counterpart at the Federal Trade Commission. TPA has argued most of the cases brought – and certainly the highest-profile cases – have had little legal merit, instead being the outgrowth of an ideological bias against big business. TPA has argued that competition is, indeed, strong among tech companies and that, by and large, the currently dominate tech companies have achieved their success by providing better products than their rivals, without government mandates or heavy-handed regulations. The White House may be about to change hands, but the facts and the law remain the same.

“President-elect Trump may object to certain decisions made by Big Tech, but he should not take that as license to launch similar ideologically motivated cases. Antitrust law should not be an instrument to punish one’s perceived political enemies. Doing so would cut against the pro-prosperity policies on which he campaigned.

“President Trump’s second administration should allow America’s current tech dominance to flourish, not hamstring it. This will ensure that the U.S. remains the economic and technological powerhouse it is today, outpaces geopolitical rivals such as China, and provides to its citizens all the blessings of liberty, opportunity, innovation, and prosperity – the blessings of the American dream.”

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Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government’s effects on the economy.