Antitrust officials in Washington and their allies across the political spectrum are asking whether Kamala Harris is fully committed to President Joe Biden’s campaign against America’s largest companies.
Usually an issue that takes a backseat in national politics, antitrust law has become one of the White House’s most important legacies, with Biden’s top corporate regulator launching major new challenges over insulin prices, financial services and rental costs. The urgency of the matter has increased as lawsuits have been filed.
On top of existing lawsuits against Apple, Meta, Google, Amazon, Ticketmaster, and others, the next president will be in the position of empowering or blocking historic efforts by companies to grow.
Josh Zuker, a former Justice Department antitrust official who joined consulting firm FGS Global earlier this year, said what Harris chooses to do if she wins is “very important.” “The Biden administration has set a course that will be very difficult to change.”
Harris has said little about antitrust, but the signals she has sent so far are encouraging to some antitrust advocates.
As part of the economic policy planning Ms. Harris announced last week that she supports several competitive moves by the Biden administration. She accused landlords of price manipulation. This is an issue the Justice Department is grappling with in its lawsuit against software companies. She also attacked grocery store mergers while awaiting the Federal Trade Commission’s decision on a lawsuit blocking the Kroger-Albertsons mega-deal.
But notably, she has said little about Big Tech, which is a focus of Biden’s top antitrust officials, the FTC’s Lina Khan and the Justice Department’s Jonathan Canter.
Among Harris’ critics on the left are Tony West, her brother-in-law and Uber’s chief lawyer, and Karen West, the corporate lawyer and debate advisor who is currently leading Google’s antitrust defense. Some are concerned about the ties of Harris’ advisers, including Dunn, to large corporations. case.
This, combined with Ms. Harris’ silence on calls from major donors like LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman to remove Ms. Khan from her position as FTC chairman, has led some anti-monopoly advocates to Interest is growing. at the edge.
A Harris campaign spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.
The next president will officially take over all of the administration’s litigation, but it will be up to the White House to decide how much effort the beleaguered antitrust agency will make. The movement’s momentum could be in jeopardy not only if former President Donald Trump wins and eases corporate growth, but also if Harris wins and takes office without the same enthusiasm as her predecessor.
Barry Lin, a longtime antitrust advocate, said he detected two strong antitrust signs at this summer’s Democratic National Convention. One was a speech by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who progressives have long felt is one of the most pro-big business Biden administration officials. In her speech at the convention, she called out “monopoly policies that crush small businesses, workers, and startups.”
Another sign was the prominent emergence of populist antitrust hawks. elizabeth warren (Massachusetts Democratic Party) The night Harris accepted the nomination.
The Biden administration’s emphasis on economic competition is popular with voters and is starting to make waves in pop culture. FTC Chair Lina Khan, a key face of this effort, appeared on The Daily Show in front of an enthusiastic audience. a A poll was commissioned That’s because the Guardian found Harris’ proposal to ban price gouging, the most popular economic policy supported by either her or the Trump campaign.
The presence of several advisers in Harris’ orbit also suggests she is likely to stay the course. That includes Brian Deese, Biden’s former director of the National Economic Council, who advises Harris on economic policy. and Bharat Ramamurthy, a former NEC deputy to Deese and an alumnus of Warren’s office. According to people familiar with the move, just last month, Rachel Brown, who was in charge of competition policy at NEC, also withdrew from the Harris campaign.
Biden administration officials said these people are unlikely to be involved in Harris’ campaign if she seeks a major break with Biden on economic policy. “The gang is slowly coming together,” the official said.
Tim Wu, a professor at Columbia Law School who led competition policy at the Biden administration’s National Economic Council, said of Harris: “I don’t think we’ve reached a final conclusion, but in general, I think we have a very popular antitrust law.” We are in agreement.” Antitrust plans to date. “Obviously, who she appoints will be where reality intersects, but the broad themes do not suggest a real break.”
The “overhang” of antitrust lawsuits is a feature of all presidential transitions, but it is particularly acute this time. Joe Biden’s aggressive approach to competition policy has given regulators the power to file a historic series of large-scale lawsuits against powerful companies.
The FTC and the Department of Justice have effectively taken antitrust cases to court in recent months, with more cases scheduled before January 20th. These lawsuits take years to resolve, making it difficult for a successor to dramatically change course.
