Dive Brief:
- Former Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Justice, has shown “surprising alignment” with the current administration’s aggressive antitrust policy stance toward big tech companies like Google, according to a recent blog post published by law firm Jenner & Block.
- A review of Gaetz’s public record suggests that DOJ’s antitrust philosophy under his leadership could bear “strong resemblance” to the current approach, according to the blog post, which was penned by Jenner & Block’s Emily Loeb, Douglas Litvack, Sam Ungar, Kate Mather and John Menton.
- “Companies who assume that the next Department of Justice will change course on antitrust enforcement should take note of this surprising appointment and what it portends,” they wrote.
Dive Insight:
Perhaps one of the biggest questions surrounding the nominee is whether he will be confirmed by the Senate, according to Seth Bloom, president and founder of Bloom Strategic Counsel PLLC.
“There’s a lot of opposition,” Bloom said in an interview. “One thing that could happen is that he could get through with a recess appointment.”
The House Ethics Committee is expected to meet Wednesday for a possible vote on whether to release a report into allegations that Gaetz has engaged in sex trafficking, acceptance of improper gifts and illicit drug use, all of which he has denied, Axios reported Monday.
The committee didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lisa Gilbert, co-president Public Citizen, a liberal consumer advocacy group based in Washington D.C., said her organization is “very concerned” about the nomination and hopes that Gaetz is not successful in his confirmation process.
“It’s an understatement to say that we think Matt Gaetz is under-qualified for this position,” she said in an interview, adding that he is “certainly not the ethical, moral compass that is needed to helm” DOJ.
Even if Gaetz is confirmed, it’s not yet clear whether his positions will give way to those of Trump, who has vowed to bring about the “most aggressive regulatory reduction” in U.S. history, according to Jenner & Block’s blog post.
Still, Gaetz’s past antitrust-related comments offer important insight for how DOJ could approach the issue under his leadership, the blog post said. “Gaetz appears to be skeptical of big business overall and to support a forceful approach to antitrust, with particular scrutiny on tech companies and corporate consolidation,” it said.
The authors noted that Gaetz has been as a vocal ally of President Joe Biden’s antitrust appointees: DOJ Antitrust Chief Jonathan Kanter and Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan.
During a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing in 2023, Gaetz told Kanter that he was “doing a good job,” particularly in the area of holding tech companies accountable. Gaetz urged Kanter to continue focusing on cases aimed at breaking up companies perceived as tech monopolies.
Gaetz has also praised Khan, calling her “a brilliant woman with a tremendous ability to impact how consumers are going to interface with the digital world for a long time to come,” the blog post authors noted.
