Gail Slater Faces Senate Questions on Antitrust Priorities, Big Tech and Drug Prices

Gail Slater, President Trump's nominee to be assistant attorney general for antitrust, told the Senate Judiciary Committee she would work to “apply the antitrust laws vigorously and fairly with clear rules of the road for all,” and senators from both parties pressed her on enforcement priorities including big tech litigation, prescription drug costs and merger remedies.

Why it matters: The assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division leads DOJ’s civil and criminal antitrust enforcement. The hearing canvassed how the division will handle ongoing high-profile cases, whether it has sufficient resources, and how it will coordinate with state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission.

Representative Mike Simpson introduced Slater and described her work in both the public and private sectors. Slater described a career spanning private practice, a decade at the Federal Trade Commission, two tours…