[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15257-15258]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     CONFIRMATION OF MAKAN DELRAHIM

  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, yesterday, the Senate confirmed the 
nomination of Makan Delrahim to be Assistant Attorney General in charge 
of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division. While I voted in 
favor of that nomination, I would like to explain my expectations for 
Mr. Delrahim and express my deep concerns about the Trump 
administration's approach to antitrust policy, such as it is, as he 
assumes that important position.
  As a former antitrust lawyer myself, I know these are complex issues 
that benefit from a rigorous and nonpolitical assessment, which is best 
done by the talented career professionals at the Department of Justice, 
but I am also concerned that, in what has become a much politicized 
Department of Justice, such an independent review may not be respected 
and the recommendations of career lawyers and economists can be 
overridden.
  At every turn, the Trump administration has catered to the interests 
of big business over those of the American consumer, and I am very 
concerned about what their approach to antitrust enforcement will be. 
In the past, the President has made remarks about supporting or 
opposing particular mergers that are deeply troubling and highly 
political. I am particularly concerned about this haphazard approach 
from the President because there are a number of major proposed and 
rumored mergers that will be coming before the Antitrust Division in 
the coming months and years, particularly in the telecommunications 
industry, and they will require very careful and professional review 
independent of politics. I am also deeply concerned about the 
possibility that this administration will use antitrust laws as a 
weapon against companies it perceives as somehow unfair to it.
  For example, Sinclair Broadcast Group's proposed merger with the 
Tribune Media Company would give Sinclair control of stations in 42 
cities, expanding its reach to a total of 108 communities. In the past, 
Sinclair has drawn criticism for programming that benefitted then 
Republican Presidential candidates Donald Trump and George W. Bush. 
Given reports of the President's continued attacks on the press, 
including reports of his threats to jail journalists, it is imperative 
that consumers retain access to a diversity of news sources. The 
Department of Justice, through its Antitrust Division, must ensure that 
their review of this merger is free of political considerations.
  However, despite those concerns, I believe Mr. Delrahim has the 
qualifications necessary to lead the Antitrust Division, which does the 
important work of preventing unlawful anticompetitive conduct and 
upholding our Nation's antitrust laws. Mr. Delrahim has served as a 
deputy assistant attorney general in the division he would now lead, as 
well as chief counsel and staff director for the Judiciary Committee 
under then-Chairman Hatch, and as an attorney in private practice 
working on complicated antitrust cases. He has a remarkable personal 
story and has received the support of many of his peers, both Democrats 
and Republicans.
  During his nomination hearing on May 10, Mr. Delrahim promised to 
protect competitive markets and consumers, vigorously enforce the 
antitrust laws, and to cooperate with the Judiciary Committee in a 
bipartisan manner. I will hold him to these promises. Importantly, he 
told the committee that he would follow the law and his ethical 
responsibilities to recuse himself in cases involving his former 
clients. I support his nomination with the expectation that he will 
honor these commitments.
  Mr. Delrahim also made a number of assurances in response to written 
questions for the record that I submitted after his hearing, questions 
that were based on my concerns about the anticompetitive impact of 
corporate mergers, as well as about actions taken by President Trump.
  In response to my question about President Trump holding private 
meetings with the CEO of AT&T, which is planning on merging with Time 
Warner, and the CEOs of Bayer and Monsanto, which are planning on 
merging, Mr. Delrahim promised that he would conduct antitrust 
investigations ``in a fair, professional, and impartial manner, without 
regard to political considerations.'' He promised to comply with 
Department of Justice policies intended to ensure only appropriate 
communications with the White House.
  This concern is particularly pressing because during his campaign, 
President Trump singled out the proposed AT&T-Time Warner merger, 
promising to block it. The President has also repeatedly attacked CNN, 
which is owned by Time Warner, and it was even reported that White 
House advisers have discussed the proposed merger as a ``potential 
point of leverage'' over the network. Mr. Delrahim specifically stated 
that he had no preordained outcome in mind for that merger 
investigation. He can be certain that the Department of Justice will 
receive particular scrutiny in its treatment of this merger. Leveraging 
antitrust laws to coerce or intimidate a media company goes against the 
foundational protections for a free press.
  While Mr. Delrahim expressed that he shared my concerns about 
consolidation in the media and agricultural sectors, I regret that he 
refused to address my specific concerns about the proposed merger of 
Sinclair Broadcast Group with the Tribune Media Company and the effect 
of the proposed Bayer-Monsanto merger on prices for Hawaii farmers. I 
would have welcomed his comments about these types of mergers and I 
expect him, as head of the Antitrust Division, to give concerns about 
the impact of these types of mergers the attention they deserve.
  As a member of the Judiciary Committee, I will continue to exercise 
oversight of the Department of Justice, and of the Antitrust Division 
in particular, to ensure that it is meeting the commitments Mr. 
Delrahim made during his nomination, especially as to his independence 
and his ability to be a

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fair, active, and nonpartisan ally of consumers and competitive 
markets. With this in mind, I supported his confirmation.

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