The Justice Department has fired Gale Slater, head of the antitrust division who oversaw the review of Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros.
In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), Slater thanked his colleagues for their support.
“It is with great sadness and eternal hope that I decide today to step down from my role as AAG Antitrust Law,” she wrote. “It has truly been the honor of a lifetime to play this role.”
Slater is a former Fox executive. Cope, Roque and former adviser to Vice President J.D. Vance spent 11 months on the job. Although she was confirmed with bipartisan support, she reportedly clashed with Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“On behalf of the Department of Justice, I would like to thank Gail Slater for her contributions to the Antitrust Division, which works to protect consumers, promote affordability, and expand economic opportunity,” Bondi said in a statement.
Mr. Slater and Mr. Bondi are leading the department’s review of the Netflix-Warner Bros. merger, raising concerns in Congress about the potential concentration of streaming platforms and TV production companies.
The move follows confusion within the office over Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s acquisition of Juniper Networks last summer. The Justice Department approved the merger with certain conditions, but two of Slater’s top senators were forced to resign after moving to block the merger.
Two Democratic senators in December called on Bondi to recuse herself from consideration of the Netflix deal, citing her past work at Ballard Partners. The lobbying firm is hired by both Netflix and Paramount Skydance, which is pursuing a hostile takeover of Warner Bros.
CBS News first reported Slater’s firing, citing a source who said Slater had “lost the trust” of Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
Elizabeth Warren, one of the senators who had called for Bondi’s removal, said Thursday that the firing “looks like corruption.”
“A small army of MAGA-aligned lawyers and lobbyists are trying to sell merger approvals to the highest bidders that drive up prices and hurt innovation,” Warren said in a statement.
