Cline bill would weaken antitrust enforcement

Can you spot the key phrase in Congressman Cline’s Facebook post above?

It’s “Trump DOJ.”

A Reuters report provides necessary context about the “One Agency Act.”

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s merger-busting, antitrust enforcement powers are coming under threat as conservatives look to harness President-elect Donald Trump’s support for limiting government.

On Tuesday, U.S. Representative Ben Cline, a Republican from Virginia, reintroduced the One Agency Act, which would remove the FTC’s antitrust authority and give it to the U.S. Department of Justice. The two agencies have shared federal antitrust jurisdiction, intended to guard against anticompetitive business behavior, for more than 100 years.

Outgoing FTC Chair Lina Khan’s skeptical stance towards company mergers and expansive view of the agency’s authority drew criticism from some in the business community and fueled Republican arguments to dial back the agency’s power.

Cline’s proposal – which was hinted at in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 policy platform – will test Congress’ willingness to streamline the U.S. government through legislation, a key pillar of Trump’s agenda.

Cline, who met in December with Trump’s government efficiency consultants Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, said his bill fits with their efforts.

…..

Critics say the two agencies are a successful tag-team. U.S. Representative Jerry Nadler, a Democrat from New York, called the bill an attempt to “abolish the antitrust police” at a hearing in April.

Nadler warned at the hearing that the bill would effectively repeal the FTC’s broad authority to protect against unfair methods of competition under the FTC Act, which it used in 2024 to sue pharmacy benefit managers and pass a ban on worker noncompete agreements.

Putting the DOJ in charge of antitrust enforcement would hand the White House more control, because the president can fire political appointees at the DOJ, which is an executive branch agency. The FTC, in contrast, is a bipartisan independent agency, whose commissioners can only be fired with cause.

So Cline is doing the bidding of Trump’s chief oligarchs, who (of course) want to weaken antitrust enforcement. Do they expect that if Cline’s bill passes, the “Trump DOJ” will be more corporate-friendly– and less consumer-friendly and less worker-friendly– than the more independent FTC?

I think we know the answer to that.