Trump Names New Head of DOJ Antitrust Division

According to the Financial Times, which first reported the nomination, Candeub was selected to serve as assistant attorney-general overseeing antitrust enforcement. A White House official later confirmed on social media that he would lead the Justice Department’s competition unit.

If confirmed, Candeub would inherit some of the US government’s most significant antitrust cases involving the technology sector. Those matters include Google’s appeal of a landmark court ruling that found the company maintained an illegal monopoly in online search markets, as well as the Justice Department’s 2024 lawsuit accusing Apple of unlawfully preserving dominance in smartphone-related markets.

The appointment comes at a time when competition policy has become increasingly prominent within the administration and among conservative policymakers. Antitrust enforcement has drawn renewed attention following the government’s high-profile settlement involving Live Nation Entertainment and its Ticketmaster business, while concerns about the market power of major technology companies continue to unite critics across the political spectrum.

Candeub has been a longstanding advocate for more aggressive oversight of large internet platforms. During Trump’s first administration, he served at the Department of Commerce, where he helped implement executive actions targeting major technology companies over allegations that social media platforms discriminated against conservative viewpoints.

The Financial Times reported that Candeub also authored a chapter in Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s policy blueprint for a second Trump administration. In that chapter, he argued that the largest internet platforms had largely escaped meaningful antitrust accountability despite their substantial influence over commerce and communications.

Read more: DOJ Leadership Signals Preference for Settling Antitrust Cases, WSJ Says

His views align with a broader movement within both Republican and Democratic circles that has called for stronger competition enforcement against dominant digital firms. In recent years, federal regulators have increasingly focused on whether large technology companies use their scale and network advantages to limit competition, control key distribution channels, or disadvantage rivals.

Beyond antitrust issues, Candeub has also been an outspoken critic of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the federal law that generally shields online platforms from liability for content posted by users. In previous writings, he questioned whether major technology companies were using those protections while simultaneously exercising significant control over online speech and content moderation practices.

The Justice Department’s antitrust division plays a central role in reviewing major corporate mergers and pursuing competition cases. The department recently approved the proposed $110 billion transaction involving Paramount and Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery, though the deal has subsequently been temporarily halted by judicial action, according to the Financial Times.

Candeub’s nomination places a vocal advocate of tougher technology oversight at the helm of federal antitrust enforcement during a period of heightened regulatory attention toward market concentration and platform dominance. His confirmation process and eventual policy decisions will likely be closely watched by major technology companies, investors, and competition authorities worldwide as the government continues pursuing cases against some of the largest firms in the digital economy.

Source: The Financial Times