Top Trump administration officials have removed Justice Department Antitrust Division head Abigail Slater after she lost the trust of Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, sources told CBS News.
Slater discussed her exit with officials shortly before announcing on social media that she was leaving, writing, “It is with great sadness and abiding hope that I leave my role as AAG for Antitrust today,” without giving a reason.
Officials said Slater had undermined pending cases and disobeyed directives, including a costly trip to a Paris conference that angered Bondi, who then cut off her government credit card. Bondi thanked Slater for her service as Omeed Assefi was installed as acting antitrust chief. Slater served less than a year.
Earlier this month, Slater deleted a post announcing her chief of staff would step down after Bondi overruled her attempt to remove the aide. She also fired top deputy Roger Alford and merger enforcement chief Bill Rinner during a dispute tied to the Justice Department settlement approving Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks.
In August, Alford criticized “MAGA-In-Name-Only lobbyists and DOJ officials” for pursuing an antitrust agenda favoring special interests.
