What Trump’s DOJ shakeup could mean for Big Tech M&A

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Gail Slater, who has led the Department of Justice’s antitrust division for the last 11 months, is stepping down.

She said she made the decision on her own, but multiple news outlets report that she was pushed out by President Donald Trump’s administration.

Her ousting could mark a turning point: She has been a vocal advocate against tech monopolies and reportedly butted heads with Attorney General Pam Bondi and other high-ranking members of the administration, particularly over Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s recent acquisition of Juniper Networks.

The Trump administration has indicated a more friendly attitude toward M&A than its predecessor, having greenlit several mega-deals, including Netflix’s recent $82.7 billion deal with Warner Bros.

Slater will leave behind several active lawsuits, including a pair against Alphabet’s Google and Apple over allegedly anti-competitive practices.

For VCs hungry for M&A activity, Slater’s exit will be welcome news. Under Slater, and her Biden-era predecessor, more Big Tech giants carried out “acqui-hire” deals in the race for AI talent to avoid antitrust scrutiny. Such deals have come with mixed reactions from VCs.

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Still, M&A activity has been on a tear, with 2025 surpassing 2021 as the biggest year on record both globally and in North America, per PitchBook’s 2025 Global M&A report.

Omeed Assefi, Slater’s deputy, was named acting antitrust chief, according to CBS News.

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This article originally appeared on PitchBook News