Donald Trump is considering appointing antitrust officials who may press on with the Biden administration’s crackdown on Big Tech’s market power, in what would represent a break with the Republican party’s traditionally business-friendly stance.
Gail Slater, a top aide to vice president-elect JD Vance, and Mark Meador, who previously worked as an enforcer at the Department of Justice’s antitrust division and the Federal Trade Commission, are the frontrunners to lead the FTC, according to people briefed on the matter.
Some on Wall Street have expressed worries that Slater and Meador may be partial to the tough enforcement stance spearheaded by progressive officials appointed by US President Joe Biden — FTC chair Lina Khan and Jonathan Kanter, head of the DoJ’s antitrust division — which has been embraced by a new generation of Maga populists with Vance at its vanguard.