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• DOJ CORRUPTION BONANZA. The Senate overwhelmingly confirmed former DOJ Antitrust AAG Gail Slater in March 2025. Lobbyist Mike Davis praised the pick for signaling President Trump’s focus on “bipartisan antitrust law enforcement.” Just short of a year later, Slater abruptly left the agency amid allegations that MAGA lobbyists, like Davis, and DOJ senior leadership were corruptly settling mergers like the HPE/Juniper deal. Democratic Senators and Representatives, including Judiciary Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08), demanded answers about Slater’s departure. And this month, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced the Antitrust Accountability and Transparency Act to strengthen the Tunney Act – a backstop for courts to stop for corrupt merger settlements. Join Economic Liberties on March 25^th for a half day event on this rampant corporate corruption, and check out the Trump merger tracker.
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• COLLABORATION GUIDELINES GET A REWRITE. In 2000, the FTC and DOJ issued Antitrust Guidelines for Collaborations Among Competitors (Guidelines). The Guidelines noted that international expansion and lowering production costs could drive competitors to work together, and provided insight into how antitrust enforcers might assess such collaborations. Those guidelines stayed in place until December 2024, when the Biden FTC and DOJ withdrew them for being overly permissive and relying on outdated economic analysis. In February, Chair Ferguson’s FTC and DOJ Acting AAG Omeed Assefi launched a public inquiry seeking public input on new guidelines and criticized Biden’s withdrawal for creating uncertainty for businesses. Specifically, the FTC and DOJ are seeking input on what new technologies and businesses models – such as algorithmic pricing and data sharing – would benefit from updated guidance. Anyone can submit comments until April 24.

Merger Mix

• DOJ FOLDS ON TICKETMASTER. In 2024, DOJ and 39 bipartisan state AGs sued Live Nation-Ticketmaster for monopolizing the live events industry. Trial started earlier this month with documents revealing a Live Nation ticketing director admitting to price gouging fans, “robbing them blind,” prompting pushback from Kid Rock to Sen. Gallego (D-AZ). Within days, the Trump DOJ announced a settlement, without the trial attorney or all state AGs knowing the terms, enraging the presiding federal judge and reeking of corruption. The settlement leaves the Live Nation monopoly untouched, requiring Ticketmaster to pay between $200-280 million to the plaintiff states, divest a small number of amphitheaters, limit the length of exclusive contracts with concert venues, and allows rivals to access the required Ticketmaster platform. More than 30 bipartisan state AGs rejected the settlement and restarted the trial, including Republican Ohio AG Dave Yost, who discussed the case on Steve Bannon’s War Room. Separately, Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s (D-CT) Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations’ released a minority report on how Ticketmaster pressured artists to raise ticket prices. Keep up to date on trial with Gigi Liman’s courtroom coverage in Big Tech on Trial.

Airlines

• TRUMP-VANCE FTC GREENLIGHTS BOEING CONSOLIDATION. In March 2024, Boeing, one of only two dominant airplane manufacturers in the world, sought to acquire Spirit AeroSystems, the world’s largest independent wing and fuselage maker. The announcement came months after a near-disaster when a door plug flew off an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 airplane in mid-air, planes Spirit Aerosystems helps build. Last month, the FTC approved the deal, requiring Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems to only sell certain manufacturing hubs to Airbus, the other global airline manufacturer. The FTC’s settlement made no mention of increasing safety oversight of aircraft manufacturing, despite Boeing’s recent well-documented and deadly safety failures, and the Federal Aviation Administration’s findings that Spirit AeroSystems and Boeing failed to comply with quality-control requirements.

Improving Health Care

• MEDICINE MADE IN AMERICA? Pharmaceutical manufacturing in the United States has steadily declined since the 1960s. Essential medicines and their components are overwhelmingly made abroad, particularly in China and India. As a result, drug supply chains are especially vulnerable to global disruptions, like the Strait of Hormuz closure, which has cut off 40% of India’s crude oil imports. India relies on such imports to produce essential medicines, like acetaminophen. The United States, in turn, relies on India for nearly half of its generic drugs. A new Economic Liberties report details the federal policy choices that incentivized this offshoring, including trade and tax policies, as well as the domestic consolidation of pharmaceutical middlemen. The paper also offers a suite of policy solutions to reshore manufacturing, such as requiring multi-source government contracting with domestic suppliers. Check out WaPo’s coverage of how consolidated health care supply chains harm patients, and what Congress can do to rebuild the domestic base.
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• FTC SETTLES WITH BIG MEDICINE. In September 2024, the FTC sued the “Big Three” PBMs – CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and Optum Rx—for creating a drug rebate system with insulin manufacturers that artificially inflated prices and correlated with higher patient costs. Now, Chair Ferguson’s FTC and Express Scripts have agreed to a proposed settlement to resolve the lawsuit. Although the proposed settlement includes positive terms that go beyond both the scope of the original complaint and the PBM reforms recently enacted by Congress, it also includes several loopholes that allow Express Scripts to continue anticompetitive business practices that harm patients, pharmacies, employers, and taxpayers. Check out Economic Liberties’ and T1International’s joint comment letter, which urges the FTC to close these loopholes before finalizing the settlement or entering into similar agreements with the other “Big Three” PBM defendants, including a proposed settlement with CVS Caremark just reported today.
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• DEMS INTRODUCE PRIVATE-EQUITY HOSPITAL BAN. Private-equity (PE) ownership in health care is associated with higher costs, lower wages, and, most concerningly, worse patient outcomes, another part of the Big Medicine problem. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-05) have introduced the bicameral Take Back Our Hospitals Act, which would ban private-equity ownership of hospitals and nursing homes by making them ineligible to receive Medicare funding. Their bill comes after Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-NH-02) recently re-introduced the Corporate Crimes Against Health Care Act, which would create new criminal and civil penalties for PE executives whose firms take control of healthcare organizations and contribute to the injury or death of patients.

Trade

• TARIFF REFUNDS ON THE WAY? Shortly after President Trump used International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) authority to impose tariffs, small businesses sued. On February 20, the Supreme Court ruled the tariffs are illegal, but did not specify how the $170+ billion in import duties already collected should be refunded. Over 2,000 businesses have filed lawsuits for refunds, and various House and Senate Democrats have introduced refund bills, mostly aimed at automating a refund process to save businesses the trouble of suing. These bills, however, return tariff payments to the “importers of record” listed in Customs databases, which are typically large retailers wholesalers, and shippers like FedEx, DHL, and UPS. Such a refund structure would likely provide a windfall to these large players but cut out consumers and small businesses. In a March 19 filing to the Court of International Trade, Customs affirmed it was developing  an online refund platform, but did not provide a launch date. Adding insult to injury, the delayed 2025 trade data published last month revealed Trump’s tariffs are not rebalancing trade, revitalizing U.S. industry, or raising manufacturing employment. In fact, since Trump’s second inauguration, the U.S. has 91,000 fewer manufacturing jobs, and the manufacturing trade deficit is up $62 billion.

Agriculture

• SCHUMER CALLS FOR MEATPACKING BREAK UP. Four meat packing giants – Tyson Foods, JBS, Cargill, and National Beef – dominate the beef, pork, and poultry markets, leading thousands of farms to close, raising prices for consumers and lost jobs for workers, like at the Tyson’s plant that closed this year in Lexington, Nebraska. Earlier this month, Senate Minority Leader Schumer introduced the Family Grocery and Farmer Relief Act, along with 14 Democrats, to break up these meatpacking monopolists. Specifically, the bill would require dominant meatpackers to divest plants in cattle and beef markets where they hold excessive market share and provide financial support to small and midsize processors. Independent cattle rancher advocacy group R-CALF noted the bill aligns with President Trump’s directive to investigate meat packing consolidation. Check out Economic Liberties’ event with Leader Schumer announcing the bill and No-Bull Food News’ coverage.
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• AGRISTATS TRIAL ON THE WAY. In September 2023, Biden’s DOJ and six bipartisan state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Agri Stats, a data information exchange company serving meat processors that account for 80-90% of all U.S. broiler chicken, pork, and turkey sales. DOJ alleged Agri Stats colluded with the largest meat processors to limit production, raising prices for consumers. Last month, DOJ survived a motion to dismiss, and the trial is set to begin in May in a Minnesota federal district court.

Media

• PARAMOUNT NEXT JEWEL IN TRUMP’S MEDIA CROWN? For months, Netflix and Paramount have been jockeying to buy Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD). Last month, facing hostility from the Trump Administration, Netflix dropped its bid and WBD accepted Paramount’s revised $110 billion offer. Paramount’s persistence appears connected to President Trump’s effort to remake traditional media. Specifically, Larry Ellison, Paramount’s CEO David Ellison’s father, reportedly discussed changes to CNN with the White House last year. More recently, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth expressed a desire for the Ellisons to control CNN and offer more favorable Iran War coverage. Trump’s DOJ is expected to approve the deal, which is why earlier this month, Economic Liberties joined the Center for American Progress in urging state AGs to sue. California AG Rob Bonta has confirmed he opened an investigation. Sen. Booker (D-NJ) also led a letter with several colleagues directing Paramount to retain documents and communications, and promised to scrutinize the deal, and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) held a spotlight hearing in Burbank, CA featuring actor Noah Wyle. WBD shareholders will likely vote on the Paramount offer in late-April. Check out a recent Economic Liberties briefing and FAQ for info on why the deal is illegal and would devastate the entertainment industry.
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• NEXSTAR/TEGNA MERGER FACES HEADWINDS, EXCEPT FROM DOJ.  Last year, broadcast company Nexstar proposed to acquire rival Tegna. The combination would give Nexstar control of 265 local broadcast television stations nationwide and reach 80% of all U.S. households – double the statutory limit set by Congress. The deal would solidify Nexstar’s position as the nation’s largest owner of local television stations. Last week, California AG Rob Bonta and 7 other Democratic AGs filed a lawsuit to block the merger; DirectTV also filed a lawsuit. Within a day of the states’ lawsuit, the FCC and DOJ approved the deal to move forward, and the companies closed the deal. Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez blasted FCC Chair Brendan Carr for approving the merger without a vote by the Commission and waiving the statutory national broadcast ownership cap. Despite federal approval, the states’ case will proceed.

Housing

• BIPARTISAN SENATORS TAKE ON CORPORATE LANDLORDS. Single family housing is in short supply in many parts of the U.S. Increasingly, there is bipartisan consensus that corporate investors are partly to blame. Indeed, during the first quarter of 2025, investors accounted for nearly 30% of all home sales, often bought to rent. In January, President Trump issued an Executive Order supposedly to tackle the problem, though it contained a gaping loophole for homes built with the intention of renting (BTR). Last month, Sen. Warren released the American Homeownership Act, many parts of which were incorporated into the Senate ROAD to Housing Act, which would ban investors owning more than 350 properties from future purchases. Warren co-sponsored the bill with Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC,) and it passed 89-10. Unlike Trump’s EO, and despite significant opposition from homebuilder lobbyists, the bill requires BTR investors to divest those properties after 7 years. Check out More Perfect Union’s coverage of how large builders and institutional investors contribute to the housing crisis.

Building Worker Power

• MARCH MADNESS AT THE WHITE HOUSE. Last year, the House of Representatives abandoned a floor vote on the SCORE Act, legislation that strips athletes of their rights and reverses hard-won court victories. Rep. Roy (R-TX-21) said the bill “isn’t ready for prime time.” Attempting to revitalize the bill’s prospects, President Trump hosted a “Saving College Sports” roundtable at the White House. Conference commissioners, leaders from the NBA and MLB, media executives, former high profile coaches, athletic directors, and private equity giants were all in attendance. Athletes and their representatives were not invited. In the Senate, Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Eric Schmitt (R-MO) released a bipartisan discussion draft of the College Sports Competitive Act, which would expand the Sports Broadcasting Act to let conferences pool their media rights. This legislation would appear to run contrary to the views of House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH-04), who in a series of letters last year to the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB, expressed skepticism about the need for an antitrust exemption for televised sports and that the Sports Broadcasting Act may be outdated and distort the marketplace.

ICYMI

• At an NYC event with Rep. Ryan (D-NY-18,) Rep. Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) echoed the need to Break Up Big Medicine.
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• Check out Economic Liberties’ Good, Bad, and Ugly fact sheet for an overview of the administration’s antitrust and consumer protection track record.
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• Sen. Murphy (D-CT) and Rep. Casar (D-TX-35) introduced the Banning Event Trading on Sensitive Operations and Federal Functions to ban betting in certain events, such as terrorism and war.
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• Energy and Policy Institute released a tool to see how much money from an electricity bill goes towards utility company profits.
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• Rep. Tlaib (D-MI-12) introduced the Medicines for the People Act to support public research and a public option for patients to access groundbreaking medication.
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• Rep. Riley (D-NY-19) is suing New York’s utility commission in an attempt to reverse electricity rate hikes the commission approved.
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• Former AAG Gail Slater is now the Competition and Technology Policy Chair at American Compass, and Omeed Assefi has taken over as Acting AAG.
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• Check out Economic Liberties Aviation Fellow Bill McGee’s op-ed on how private jets cost U.S. tax payers.
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• Sen. Murphy (D-CT) introduced the Fair Prices for Local Businesses Act to strengthen the Robinson-Patman Act, ensuring small businesses and consumers receive fair prices.
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• Rep. Comer (R-KY-01) is pressing companies like Uber and other ride share apps if they use surveillance pricing.
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• Sen. Durbin (D-IL) introduced the No Bailout for Crypto Act to ensure taxpayers aren’t on the hook to bail out the crypto industry.
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• After billionaire Jeff Bezos owned-Washington Post laid off a third of its workforce, the company sent notice to consumers it would raise subscription prices through surveillance pricing.
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• Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) and 11 other Senate Democrats announced a policy initiative to lower healthcare costs, improve coverage, and take on Big Medicine profiteering.​​