Seyfarth Post-Election Pulse Antitrust In The Second Trump Administration: The Chicago School Strikes Back

Traditionally, Republican administrations have favored deregulation and a more lenient approach to antitrust enforcement that is grounded in economics over policy preferences. This environment often leads to an increase in merger and acquisition activity, as companies feel more confident in pursuing significant deals without the fear of stringent regulatory intervention. While a second Trump administration should bring with it a return to an economics-based antitrust enforcement approach, wholesale change in antitrust enforcement policy from that of the outgoing Biden administration is unlikely.

New leadership at both the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are likely to reaffirm the commitment of those agencies to the "consumer welfare" standard of the Chicago School that has long informed U.S. antitrust analysis. Under the "consumer welfare" standard, antitrust enforcement focuses on price