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
Why Are Democratic Lawmakers Still Meeting With Netanyahu?
Take Action Now Pictures show Democrats like Chuck Schumer standing next to Netanyahu, smiling.By Sharon Zhang, Truthout A bipartisan group of…
Stop Israel’s Dystopian “Humanitarian City” Plan—Before It’s Too Late
Take Action Now For the past 20 months, the world has watched—and largely enabled—a genocidal campaign in Gaza. Over 55,000 Palestinians have been…
The “Liberal” International Order Is Criminalizing Palestine Protests
Take Action Now As Western governments repress Palestine solidarity and enable Israel’s impunity, the “liberal international order” is no longer…
Politicians Are Betraying Gen Z On Climate
Take Action Now While Gen-Zers thrift, knit, crochet, and find other ways to reduce our footprints, Trump and the GOP are greenlighting more climate…