WASHINGTON, Feb 12 - Gail Slater, who was confirmed in March to head the Justice Department's antitrust division, said on Thursday she is stepping down from the role less than a year after her appointment. Slater, whose office enforces laws targeting monopolistic conduct and other anticompetitive behavior, announced her decision on X, writing it was "with great sadness and abiding hope" that she was leaving that day.
In her post on the platform, Slater added that serving in the role "was indeed the honor of a lifetime to serve in this role." The statement provided no further detail on the timing or reasons for her departure beyond those remarks.
Her exit follows public reporting in July that two deputies in the antitrust division were fired for insubordination after a settlement was approved allowing Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks to proceed. That episode revealed an internal struggle inside the administration between officials pushing for more aggressive antitrust enforcement and others described as dealmakers seeking to use influence to advance transactions.
The events underline tensions within the Justice Department's enforcement team during the current administration. Slater's division is responsible for evaluating and enforcing laws designed to prevent illegal monopolies and to address anticompetitive business practices, responsibilities that can place it at the center of disputes over large corporate combinations and industry consolidation.
The July episode involving the HPE-Juniper settlement and the subsequent dismissal of two deputies was framed in reporting as exposing a broader contest over the direction of antitrust policy and how strictly enforcement should be applied in deal reviews. Slater's confirmation in March placed her at the helm of that effort, and her resignation in February comes amid lingering questions about how the division will approach future cases.
No additional personnel announcements were included in Slater's public statement, and the timeline for naming a successor was not specified. The departure leaves the antitrust division without its confirmed leader less than a year into her tenure, during a period when high-profile merger reviews remain a central focus of the department's work.
Context: The antitrust division enforces statutes intended to curb monopolies and anticompetitive practices. High-stakes mergers and internal disagreements over enforcement strategy have shaped recent developments within the division.