Companies facing antitrust scrutiny funneled big money to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen before her aides tried to defund regulators’ budget.
By Freddy Brewster, The Lever
Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s aides quietly drafted legislation that would gut federal antitrust enforcers’ budget — a move that could benefit some of the lawmaker’s major finance, weapons, and health care industry donors whose industries are facing the prospect of tougher scrutiny from those antitrust regulators.

Some of those donors’ companies have been actively lobbying Congress on antitrust issues in the lead-up to Shaheen’s proposed cut, according to federal disclosures reviewed by The Lever.
Shaheen aides slipped the budget-cutting provision into a must-pass 1,050-page bill to keep the government open. The language would strip the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division of nearly $50 million, or roughly 18 percent of its resources.
The proposed cut comes out of a Shaheen-chaired Senate appropriations subcommittee, which issued a summary of the bill that failed to mention the controversial provision.
Recent Posts
Reports: Netanyahu Orders Israeli Army To Conquer All Of Gaza
August 5, 2025
Take Action Now Israeli media is reporting that Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli army to expand its offensive in Gaza and reoccupy the…
This Is How Criticism Of Israel Is Being Suppressed
August 5, 2025
Take Action Now To prevent criticism of Israel, its supporters want to define that as antisemitism.By Aviva Chomsky, Tom Dispatch In July 2025,…
Why I’m Withdrawing My Fall Course At Columbia
August 4, 2025
Take Action Now The university’s draconian policies and new definition of antisemitism make much teaching impossible.By Rashid Khalidi, The…
After Eighty Years, Nuclear Threat Remains Grave
August 4, 2025
Take Action Now A nuclear war would be catastrophic. We must eliminate nuclear weapons to ensure events like the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and…