By Bill Alpert
The Thursday departure of the Department of Justice's antitrust chief is being closely followed for any impact on the government's civil lawsuit against concert giant Live Nation Entertainment.
Gail Slater, the assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division, announced her resignation on Thursday morning on social-media platform X. She was reportedly pushed out by President Donald Trump after nearly a year of increasing friction with her boss, Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Fox News reported that the Trump administration suspected Slater was a source for last weekend's embarrassing scoop by the Semafor news outlet on conflict within the antitrust division over the Live Nation civil antitrust trial that's scheduled for March 2.
Semafor reported that Slater had been sidelined from settlement negotiations between top Justice Department officials and Live Nation's executives and lobbyists. Slater had previously objected to her bosses' waving through last year's merger of Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Juniper Networks without a deep antitrust review.
Slater's departure heightens concerns shared by liberals and conservatives that the administration prefers making deals with lobbyists, instead of fighting against internet monopolies and price-fixing practices.
"This is the triumph of the lobbyists at the expense of the American consumer," a former antitrust official told Barron's. "Gail Slater was trying to enforce antitrust laws to protect the average American from monopolies and corporate cartels, particularly in the area of kitchen table issues."
"Every merger in front of the admin now reeks of double-dealing -- TicketMaster's stock is already surging," wrote Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D, MA) on X. "Congress must unearth what happened and hold Trump accountable."
The Live Nation civil suit was brought under the administration of Joe Biden, but carried forward under Trump. It alleges that Live Nation and its Ticketmaster unit use their monopoly power over performers, venues and independent promoters to thwart competition and raise the price of live entertainment.
Slater couldn't be reached for comment.
The Justice Department didn't reply to a Barron's query, but Fox News cited sources in the administration saying that Slater clashed with her superiors and didn't pursue Trump's affordability agenda with sufficient zeal. Since 2023, the Justice Department has been pursuing a civil antitrust suit against the firm Agri Stats, which operates information exchanges on which poultry and pork farmers share price and cost information. Agri Stats denies that its service aids price-fixing, and is fighting the suit.
Slater's departure was applauded by some, including Mike Davis, a conservative activist and lobbyist who had represented Hewlett Packard in antitrust negotiations.
"Good riddance," he posted on X.
After critics blamed lobbyists for Slater's ouster, Davis posted several rebuttals on X.
"I was the person who recommended Gail Slater for her job," wrote Davis. "So this notion that anyone got rid of Gail to help any client is laughably stupid on its face."
"Merging companies care most about certainty."
"Jumping through the antitrust hoops is the cost of doing business."
"They just want to know how many and how high."
If the Justice Department decides to settle with Live Entertainment, a group of some 40 state attorney generals will probably persist in their own antitrust litigation.
Write to Bill Alpert at william.alpert@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 13, 2026 15:57 ET (20:57 GMT)
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