The Justice Department’s recent approval of the $14 billion Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE)–Juniper Networks merger has fueled speculation of a rift within President Trump’s antitrust team. But as Norm Singleton explains, the differences are overstated:
“The lawsuit to block HPE’s acquisition of Juniper was motivated by concerns that the acquisition would reduce the number of companies providing WiFi to big institutions… The Justice Department dropped the suit in June when HPE agreed to divest their Instant One business in exchange for the Justice Department’s approval of the deal.”
The controversy arose after the settlement was signed not by the career antitrust attorneys working on the case, but by Antitrust Division head Gail Slater, her deputy Roger Alford, and Head of Merger Enforcement Bill Reiner—with Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Chief of Staff Chad Mizzle also signing. Shortly after, both Alford and Reiner were fired, fueling claims of internal turmoil.
Singleton argues the “split” between Bondi and Slater is exaggerated:
“It is highly unlikely that Mizzle would have intervened in the HPE–Juniper case to overrule Slater and two of her top deputies without receiving the go ahead from Pam Bondi. This suggests Bondi does not share Slater’s support for a right-wing version of the ‘neo-Brandeisian’ approach to antitrust associated with Biden-era FTC Chair Lina Khan and Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter.”
Instead, the difference may simply be one of tactics. Bondi is more willing to settle antitrust cases with divestiture requirements, while Slater favors going to trial to block mergers outright. Either way, Singleton warns, the outcome is the same: government interference in private business transactions.
“Seeking a settlement may be preferable to blocking mergers or acquisitions entirely, but this policy still interferes with free-market transactions and will negatively impact the economy.”
Even more troubling, some settlements raise First Amendment concerns. Singleton cites the FTC’s approval of Omnicom’s acquisition of Juniper, conditioned on the company not discriminating against sites for political reasons:
“Such a requirement violates these companies’ First Amendment rights, and could be used to force conservative companies to advertise on liberal sites, or vice versa.”
Bottom line:
While President Trump’s antitrust team may be an improvement over the Biden-era “neo-Brandeisians,” their continued willingness to pursue settlements means the economy remains at risk—and so do Americans’ free speech rights.
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