Transition To The Biden Administration: Antitrust Enforcement In The Near Term

President-elect Biden has yet to name the officials who will oversee antitrust enforcement in his administration. Therefore, the focus of the administration's substantive agenda remains to be seen. However, the staffs of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will continue their work as the agencies transition to new leadership. Indeed, the agencies and their career staff can be expected to continue to investigate and prosecute pending cases and receive and review merger filings. Nevertheless, there are certain ways in which the trajectory and pace of the agencies' work might be impacted by the departure of political appointees from the current administration; and because the FTC and DOJ have different leadership structures, the change in presidential administration will impact each agency differently.