Donald Trump wants anti-trust enforcement in the United States to be the responsibility of a lobbyist who’s worked for health insurance giants Anthem and Blue Cross Blue Shield, as well as Comcast and other major corporations. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is saying not so fast.
Trump has nominated Makan Delrahim to be his assistant attorney general for anti-trust, a nomination that was supposed to be included with other confirmations reaching the Senate last week. But that didn’t happen, because Warren put a hold on Delrahim’s nomination:
The delay means Delrahim remains on the outside as Justice Department lawyers wrap up their investigation of AT&T Inc. and Time Warner Inc.’s proposed $85.4 billion merger and start early talks with company representatives about possible conditions that could secure approval. AT&T’s bid for the owner of CNN and HBO would reshape the media landscape and has drawn fire from Trump. [...]
Warren has expressed concern about concentration in some markets and the need for vigorous antitrust enforcement to reduce imbalances in the economy. She has described the nomination of Delrahim, a former lobbyist for Anthem Inc., as an indication that Trump’s administration will "put the interests of giant corporations ahead of the American people," according to an April 3 post on her Facebook page.
With the Senate on recess, Delrahim’s nomination won’t get a vote until September, at which point he’ll get a stand-alone vote.