The Big Things Gail Slater Omitted in Her Notre Dame Speech
By Paul Steidler: In a major speech on Monday, April 28, at the University of Notre Dame Law School, U.S. Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Gail Slater addressed “The Conservative Roots of America First Antitrust Enforcement.”
At its core, the speech seeks to explain why the Trump Administration will continue an aggressive antitrust posture, particularly against tech companies, and how this supposedly fits into conservative economic values and practices. The term “MAGA Antitrust” along with “Hillbilly Antitrust” are also gaining traction as ways to brand these actions.
The speech offered a good deal for traditional conservatives who are wary of heavy-handed government intervention in markets especially when there is little evidence of consumer harm from mergers or companies just being big.
In a veiled criticism of former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, AAG Slater said, “A truly conservative approach to antitrust law starts with first principles and text. This means that antitrust agencies should enforce the laws passed by Congress, not the laws they wish Congress had passed.” Amen to that.
She also said, “Regulation is a sledgehammer,” and should be avoided, while also importantly adding, “Ex ante regulations cover all parties in an industry for time immemorial, permanently distorting the free market rather than merely curing diseases that were destroying the market.”
AAG Slater also spoke extensively of the closing of a Studebaker factory in South Bend (home of Notre Dame) in 1963, an early casualty of globalization. This led to decades of economic pain in the community.
What she did not address was the alleged harm that technology companies, the focal point of today’s antitrust actions, are having. While the U.S. Department of Justice’s two highest legal profile actions are against Google, Indiana receives enormous economic benefits from the company.
In 2024, Google accounted for $6.3 billion of economic activity in the state for tens of thousands of Indiana businesses, nonprofits, and others. More than 368,000 Indiana businesses used Google’s free tools to receive phone calls, bookings, reviews, and other customer interactions.
In October 2020, the first Trump Administration began protracted legal action against Google, charging it with having an internet search (Search) monopoly. And while it could still be years until the case is finally resolved in the courts, the idea of underlying harm is doubtful, as Search has continued to improve, partly because of billions of dollars of investments and innovation from Google.
Today, AI is rapidly becoming a preferred alternative for Search and there are numerous AI providers, including Google’s Gemini, Amazon’s Rufus, ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Copilot, and Elon Musk’s Grok. Through the years, Google’s algorithms have been constantly improved while new features have been added, such as doing searches with pictures.
If a government agency had set out in October 2020 to determine what easy access, widespread, low-cost future Search capabilities would be, it is unlikely to have even dreamed of the progress made since then.
Ms. Slater can bring a truly fresh approach to government by settling the Google cases and moving on to other more important matters.