United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division

United States Department of Justice
Antitrust Division

Seal of the United States Department of Justice
Division overview
Formed	1919;107 years ago (1919)
Jurisdiction	Federal government of the United States
Headquarters	Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, D.C., United States
Division executive	Gail Slater, Assistant Attorney General
Parent department	U.S. Department of Justice
Website	Official website

The United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division is the division of the U.S. Department of Justice that enforces U.S. antitrust law. It has exclusive jurisdiction over federal criminal antitrust enforcement, and enforces civil antitrust law under the Sherman Act and Clayton Act. It shares civil antitrust jurisdiction with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

History

Early years

On February 25, 1903, Congress earmarked $500,000 for antitrust enforcement. On March 3, 1903, Congress created the position of Antitrust Attorney General, with a salary to be paid out of the funds earmarked for antitrust enforcement. The 1904 DOJ Register identified two professional staffers responsible for enforcement of antitrust laws, but the Division was not formally established until 1919. ^[1]

Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer “effected the first important reorganization" of DOJ since it was first established in 1870. Palmer organized DOJ into divisions, and placed the assistant attorney general “in charge of the Anti-Trust Division.” Palmer's annual report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1919 contained the first public statement that DOJ had a component called the "Antitrust Division." ^[2]

2013 closure of field offices

The closure of four of the Antitrust Division's criminal antitrust offices in January 2013 generated significant controversy within the Division and among members of Congress. ^{[3] [4] [5]} The Attorney General posited that the closure of these offices would save money and not negatively affect criminal enforcement.

A significant number of career prosecutors voiced contrary opinions, noting that the elimination of half of the Division's criminal enforcement offices would increase travel expenses and diminish the likelihood of uncovering local or regional conspiracies.^{[ citation needed ]}

Leadership

First Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust William J. Donovan

Current Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Gail Slater

The Antitrust Division is led by an assistant attorney general (AAG) who is appointed by the president of the United States with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Antitrust Division's AAG reports to the associate attorney general and the deputy attorney general. The current assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division is Gail Slater.

List of Assistant Attorneys General for the Antitrust Division

Name	Years of service	Appointed by
William Joseph Donovan	1926–1927	Calvin Coolidge
John Lord O'Brian	1929–1933	Herbert Hoover
Robert H. Jackson	1937–1938	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Thurman Arnold	1938–1943	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Wendell Berge	1943–1947	Franklin D. Roosevelt
John F. Sonnett	1947–1948	Harry S. Truman
Herbert Bergson	1948–1950	Harry S. Truman
Leonard Bessman	1950–1951	Harry S. Truman
H. Graham Morison	1951–1952	Harry S. Truman
Newell A. Clapp (acting)	1952–1953	Harry S. Truman
Stanley Barnes	1953–1956	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Victor R. Hansen	1956–1959	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Robert A. Bicks	1959–1961	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Lee Loevinger	1961–1963	John F. Kennedy
William Horsley Orrick, Jr.	1963–1965	John F. Kennedy
Donald F. Turner	1965–1968	Lyndon B. Johnson
Edwin Zimmerman	1968–1969	Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard W. McLaren	1969–1972	Richard Nixon
Walker B. Comegys (acting)	1972	Acting
Thomas E. Kauper	1972–1976	Richard Nixon
Donald I. Baker	1976–1977	Gerald Ford
John H. Shenefield	1977–1979	Jimmy Carter
Sanford Litvack	1979–1981	Jimmy Carter
William Baxter	1981–1983	Ronald Reagan
J. Paul McGrath	1983–1985	Ronald Reagan
Douglas H. Ginsburg	1985–1986	Ronald Reagan
Charles Rule	1986–1989	Ronald Reagan
James F. Rill	1989–1992	George H. W. Bush
Charles James (acting)	1992	Acting
J. Mark Gidley (acting)	1992–1993	Acting
Anne Bingaman	1993–1996	Bill Clinton
Joel Klein	1996–2000	Bill Clinton
Douglas Melamed (acting)	2000–2001	Acting
Charles James	2001–2003	George W. Bush
R. Hewitt Pate	2003–2005	George W. Bush
Thomas O. Barnett	2005–2008	George W. Bush
Deborah A. Garza (acting)	2008–2009	Acting
Christine A. Varney	2009–2011	Barack Obama
Sharis Pozen (acting)	2011–2012	Acting
Joseph F. Wayland (acting)	2012	Acting
Renata Hesse (acting)	2012–2013	Acting
William Baer	2013–2016	Barack Obama
Renata Hesse (acting)	2016-2017	Acting
Brent C. Snyder (acting)	2017	Acting
Andrew C. Finch (acting)	2017	Acting
Makan Delrahim	2017–2021	Donald Trump
Richard A. Powers (acting)	2021	Acting
Jonathan Kanter	2021–2024	Joe Biden
Doha Mekki (acting)	2024-2025	Acting
Omeed Assefi (acting)	2025	Acting
Gail Slater	2025–present	Donald Trump

Current organizational structure

The Assistant Attorney General is assisted by Deputy Assistant Attorneys General (DAAG). One of the DAAGs holds the position of "Principal Deputy," that is "first among equals," and "will typically assume the powers of the Assistant Attorney General in the Assistant Attorney General's absence." ^[6]

As of January 24,2025 ^[update] , the Antitrust Division consists of these sections and offices: ^[7]

Office of the Assistant Attorney General

• Assistant Attorney General
• Deputy Assistant Attorneys General
• Chief of Staff and Senior Advisors
• Directors of Enforcement
• Office of the Chief Legal Advisor

Civil Enforcement Program

• Anti-Monopoly and Collusion Enforcement Section
• Defense, Industrials, and Aerospace Section
• Financial Services, Fintech, and Banking Section
• Healthcare and Consumer Products Section
• Media, Entertainment, and Communications Section
• Technology and Digital Platforms Section
• Transportation, Energy, and Agriculture Section

Criminal Sections and Offices

• Chicago Office (also has civil enforcement responsibilities)
• New York Office
• San Francisco Office (also has civil enforcement responsibilities)
• Washington Criminal Section

Expert Analysis Group

• Economic Analysis Group

Executive Office

• Executive Office
• Paralegal Unit

Policy and Advocacy Program

• Appellate Section
• Competition Policy and Advocacy Section
• International Section
• State Relations

See also

• Competition Bureau (Canadian counterpart)
• Competition policy
• Competition regulator
• Federal Trade Commission
• United States v. Microsoft Corp.

References

1. Werden, Gregory J. (2018). "Establishment of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice" . SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.3226941. ISSN   1556-5068.
2. Werden, Gregory J. (Fall 2018). "Establishment of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice". St. John's Law Review. 98 (3): 419–430.
3. Lipman, Melissa (January 15, 2023). "DOJ's Antitrust Plans Unclear Amid Looming Office Closures". Law360. Archived from the original on April 5, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
4. Lipman, Melissa (May 2, 2012). "Kohl Urges DOJ To Reconsider Antitrust Office Closings". Law360. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
5. Lipman, Melissa. "DOJ Faces Mounting Flak Over Plan To Close Antitrust Offices". Law360. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
6. Antitrust Division Manual (5th ed.). U.S. Department of Justice. April 2015. pp. I–4. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021.
7. "Sections And Offices". www.justice.gov. July 10, 2025. Retrieved January 24, 2026.

External links

• Official homepage of the Antitrust Division
• About the Antitrust Division – Mission, History, Sections and Offices