As the leader of a bureaucracy constructed by progressives, President Trump is like a toddler in a toy store. The levers and pulleys of regulatory power all around him present endless opportunities to exert his will. These instruments were designed for supposedly dispassionate experts who falsely believed that they could rationalize society and properly organize the economy. Trump yanks on them to do what he pleases.
Case in point is the power to review corporate mergers and acquisitions. Several federal agencies are authorized to challenge, approve, or deny corporate transactions for various reasons. The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914, an anti-monopoly measure, introduced “pre-merger notification,” requiring companies to notify the newly created Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice of any planned mergers and acquisitions that exceeded certain thresholds. If those agencies believed that a transaction would dampen competition, they could challenge it in court.
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