USA – WASHINGTON Trends and Developments Contributed by: Jordanne M. Steiner and Kenneth R. O’Rourke, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati 1700 K St. NW Washington, DC 20006 USA Tel: +1 202 973 8800
An Update on Government and Private Cartel Enforcement in the United States New administration, new priorities... perhaps Gail Slater was confirmed as Assistant Attorney General (AAG) for the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division in the second Trump administration in March 2025 (see here ). Round - ing out AAG Slater’s leadership team are Roger Alford (Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney Gen - eral for the Antitrust Division), Omeed Assefi (Act - ing Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Crimi - nal Enforcement), Mark Hamer (Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Litigation and Civil Enforce - ment), William Rinner (Deputy Assistant Attor - ney General for Civil Enforcement), and Chetan Sanghvi (Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Economic Analysis) (see here ). Will we see cartel enforcement pick up under AAG Slater? Given her short tenure to date, it remains to be seen what direction cartel enforce - ment will head. We know that cartel enforcement remained about the same during 2024, the last year of the Biden administration, as in the prior year. In 2024, the DOJ Antitrust Division charged 20 individuals and five companies with antitrust criminal violations, slightly down from the 22 individuals charged in 2023, but up from just two companies charged in 2023 (see Department of Justice, Criminal Enforcement Trends Charts Through Fiscal Year 2024, updated 29 Octo -
ber 2024, available here ). On the other hand, total criminal fines and penalties experienced a marked downswing. In 2024, the DOJ collected a mere USD10.6 million in fines and penalties – a significant decrease from the USD267 million collected in 2023. Statements made by AAG Slater during her confirmation hearing in Washington DC and at a recent Competition Summit suggest her pri - orities may be more focused on Section 2 than Section 1, but it is too early to suggest Section 1 is not also a priority. For example, during her confirmation hear - ing, AAG Slater discussed her concern with the “growing practice” of non-compete agree - ments, which she identified as “quite prevalent in markets that are highly concentrated” (see here ). Her observations may suggest that we will see more labour-markets cases brought by the DOJ in 2025 but focused perhaps on the use of non-compete agreements as a tool for alleged monopolisation or monopsonisation. Additionally, AAG Slater expressed interest in partnering with state attorneys general to pur - sue targeted civil enforcement actions in cases where there is actual evidence of anti-competi - tive conduct and harm to consumers, signalling that antitrust cases brought, at least in part, by
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