Gail Slater, the head of the DOJ's antitrust division, has resigned amid escalating tensions with Attorney General Pam Bondi. Slater, a former JD Vance adviser and Fox Corp VP, had been overseeing the department's review of Netflix's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Her departure comes as the Trump administration's DOJ takes a more merger-friendly stance.

Slater's resignation follows a series of high-profile clashes with Bondi over corporate consolidation. The tensions reportedly began last summer when Slater opposed the Hewlett-Packard Enterprise and Juniper Networks merger, citing concerns about creating a duopoly in cloud computing and wireless networking. The deal ultimately received approval despite Slater's objections and national security warnings from CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

Slater's ousting raises questions about the future of major tech mergers under the current administration. The DOJ was investigating whether Netflix engaged in anticompetitive practices during its Warner Bros. Discovery bid, following intense lobbying by both Netflix and Paramount. Slater's departure also comes weeks before the DOJ's antitrust trial against Ticketmaster owner Live Nation, a case filed during the Biden administration that alleges the company operates as a monopoly harming competition and consumers.