Biden-Administration

FTC Blocks Kroger-Albertsons $24.6B Grocery Merger, Citing Labor and Consumer Harm

| Importance: 9/10

The U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon granted the Federal Trade Commission’s request for a preliminary injunction to prevent Kroger from acquiring Albertsons on December 10, 2024, blocking the largest proposed supermarket merger in U.S. history. The FTC had sued to block the $24.6 …

Federal Trade Commission Kroger Company Albertsons Companies Judge Nelson antitrust ftc kroger albertsons merger-enforcement +2 more
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JetBlue-Spirit Merger Blocked by Court, Rare Victory for Biden Antitrust Enforcers

| Importance: 8/10

U.S. District Judge William Young blocked JetBlue Airways’ $3.8 billion acquisition of low-cost rival Spirit Airlines on January 16, 2024, handing the Biden administration a significant victory in preserving airline competition. Judge Young ruled that the merger would harm competition and …

Department of Justice JetBlue Airways Spirit Airlines Judge William Young antitrust doj airline-industry merger-enforcement biden-administration +1 more
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FTC and DOJ Release 2023 Merger Guidelines Rejecting Consumer Welfare Standard

| Importance: 9/10

The Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice released final 2023 Merger Guidelines on December 18, 2023, representing a major departure from the consumer welfare standard that had guided antitrust enforcement for nearly half a century. The Guidelines signaled a move from the existing …

Federal Trade Commission Department of Justice Lina Khan Jonathan Kanter antitrust ftc doj merger-guidelines regulatory-reform +2 more
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Jonathan Kanter Confirmed as DOJ Antitrust Chief After Longest Delay in Modern History

| Importance: 9/10

The U.S. Senate confirmed Jonathan Kanter as Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice by a bipartisan vote of 68-29 on November 16, 2021, and he was sworn in the same day. Kanter’s confirmation came after the longest delay for a nominee to lead the …

Jonathan Kanter Department of Justice U.S. Senate Antitrust Division antitrust doj biden-administration regulatory-reform big-tech +1 more
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Biden Signs Executive Order 14036: 72 Competition Initiatives, Most Comprehensive Since FDR

| Importance: 10/10

President Biden signed Executive Order 14036, ‘Promoting Competition in the American Economy,’ on July 9, 2021, launching what the administration characterized as the most comprehensive federal effort to promote competition since the New Deal. The executive order directed over a dozen …

Joe Biden Federal Trade Commission Department of Justice White House Competition Council antitrust biden-administration competition regulatory-reform executive-order +1 more
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Lina Khan Confirmed as FTC Chair at Age 32, Youngest Ever

| Importance: 9/10

The U.S. Senate confirmed Lina Khan to the Federal Trade Commission by a bipartisan vote of 69-28 on June 15, 2021, and President Biden immediately named her chair of the five-member Commission. At 32, Khan became the youngest commissioner ever confirmed to the agency, let alone to lead it. Khan …

Lina Khan Joe Biden U.S. Senate Federal Trade Commission antitrust ftc biden-administration regulatory-reform lina-khan +1 more
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Biden Nominates Frank Kendall for Air Force Secretary After $702,000 in Northrop Grumman Consulting Fees

| Importance: 9/10

President Joe Biden nominated Frank Kendall for Air Force Secretary in May 2021 despite Kendall having received $702,319 in consulting fees from Northrop Grumman as part of a $300,000 per year consulting contract after serving as Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics …

Frank Kendall Northrop Grumman U.S. Air Force Joe Biden U.S. Senate revolving door military-industrial complex defense contractors corruption conflicts of interest +2 more
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Biden Signs Executive Order 14006 to End Federal Private Prison Contracts, But Excludes Immigration Detention

| Importance: 7/10

President Joe Biden signs Executive Order 14006, titled “Reforming Our Incarceration System to Eliminate the Use of Privately Operated Criminal Detention Facilities,” directing the Attorney General to not renew Department of Justice contracts with privately operated prisons. The order …

Joe Biden Department of Justice Bureau of Prisons U.S. Marshals Service CoreCivic +2 more private-prison biden-administration executive-order prison-reform immigration-detention +1 more
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