Biden’s Antitrust Policy Was Politicized and Irresponsible. Will Trump Be Better?
At now-President-elect Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign rallies, attendees would hold “Trump Will Fix It” signs. Here’s hoping the antitrust policy that President Joe Biden excessively politicized is one of those “its.” Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, previously said he believes that Biden’s appointee as chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Lina Khan, has done a good job with antitrust policy. I disagree.
For nearly 40 years, most antitrust scholars sensibly agreed that the government should base its treatment of potential corporate monopolization, mergers, and related issues on these actions’ effect on “consumer welfare.” This standard ensures that antitrust is used only to prevent businesses from undermining economic competition, preserving a market that drives prices down and product quality up on behalf of us consumers. Antitrust should not protect businesses from competition.
Upon taking control of the FTC, Khan discarded this standard and, along with it, decades of bipartisan agreement. Biden’s Department of Justice and FTC quickly morphed antitrust into a tool for helping the White House achieve political aims that have nothing to do with keeping markets competitive.
Consider, for example, how the FTC pursued Elon Musk. A newly released report by the House Judiciary Committee delved into how Khan issued a consent decree against X (then Twitter) for no reason other than that Musk—whose existing business interests were in other industries—was the company’s CEO. Khan “called for an immediate vote” just days after reporters announced the sale, which an FTC insider confirmed was what triggered the attention.
The Biden FTC also had no problem targeting companies that challenged its corporate donor base. For example, Khan released an interim report against pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), companies that health plans hire to ensure they are receiving drugs at competitive costs. The major drug manufacturers have spent significant sums lobbying the government to challenge PBMs, even though the government’s own research shows these companies save patients (and taxpayers) significant sums.
With the consumer welf
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