GOP reverses move to consolidate antitrust at DOJ
House Judiciary Committee Republicans backtracked on a plan Wednesday to centralize all antitrust activities within the Justice Department as they debate their portion of the party-line megabill.
It marked a significant reversal after the GOP majority sought in its original proposal to yank antitrust responsibilities from the Federal Trade Commission, a move long sought by conservatives. The attempt to enact the change in the legislative package to enact President Donald Trump's domestic agenda was seen as as one of the most promising chances for Republicans to deliver on this top priority this Congress.
But Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan told reporters he took out the provision to allay concerns that the policy could pose a hiccup when the package heads to the Senate, where the procedural rules in that chamber could deem efforts to defang the FTC non-germane and ultimately get stripped out.
Jordan also cited comments from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), the original champion of the proposal, who expressed some skepticism about the fate of the provision if included in the Trump agenda bill.
“We want to make sure there's no concerns with getting reconciliation done," said Jordan, referring to the filibuster-skirting process by which Republicans want to pass their bill. "So we’ll just bring that back as a standalone bill. We want to cut taxes for Americans, get the bill done.”
Democrats and some conservative antitrust proponents also criticized the proposed consolidation of antitrust powers.
The markup of the Judiciary Committee’s section of the megabill is ongoing, and committees of jurisdiction will continue to mark up their portions of the package over the coming weeks.
