Trump’s Justice Department antitrust head Gail Slater stepping down

The Trump administration’s head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division said Thursday she is stepping down less than a year after being appointed by President Donald Trump.

Gail Slater was confirmed in March to head the division, which enforces laws against illegal monopolies and anticompetitive business behavior. She said on X it was “with great sadness and abiding hope” that she was leaving on Thursday. “It was indeed the honor of a lifetime to serve in this role,” she added.

The Justice Department confirmed Slater’s departure to CNBC.

“On behalf of the Department of Justice, we thank Gail Slater for her service to the Antitrust Division which works to protect consumers, promote affordability, and expand economic opportunity,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement to CNBC.

Slater’s move throws the division into uncertainty as companies facing antitrust probes have increasingly hired Trump-connected lobbyists to influence the outcomes of their cases. It leaves the division with few senior leaders, following the departure of the division’s head of civil litigation this week.

The White House and Vice President JD Vance’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Slater’s departure.

In July, Reuters and other outlets reported two of Slater’s deputies were fired for insubordination after a settlement greenlighting Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks. The move exposed a power struggle within the Trump administration between proponents of robust antitrust enforcement and dealmakers seeking to leverage influence.

— CNBC’s Eamon Javers contributed to this report.