Biden to Nominate Kanter to Lead DOJ Antitrust Division

President Joe Biden will nominate Jonathan Kanter to lead DOJ’s Antitrust Division, the White House announced Tuesday. Congressional Democrats and consumer advocates called Kanter the right pick to strengthen antitrust enforcement against Big Tech. Some questioned the potential for Kanter to recuse himself in DOJ’s antitrust case against Google.

A partner at the Kanter Law Group, he previously was an FTC Competition Bureau attorney. Kanter's progressive antitrust views have been compared to those of FTC Chair Lina Khan and White House Special Assistant-Technology Policy Tim Wu.

“I’m very glad they’ve announced someone” to lead DOJ Antitrust because “we need to get moving” on competition matters Biden outlined in his EO earlier this month (see 2107090060), Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., told us shortly after the White House announced the pick. Kanter “is a leader in antitrust enforcement,” she later tweeted. “His breadth of experience makes him an excellent choice to lead the DOJ’s Antitrust Division.”

House Antitrust Subcommittee ranking member David Cicilline, D-R.I., called Kanter “absolutely the right person.” Biden is “following through on his promise to fight for working families and create an economy that works for everyone,” he tweeted. He and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., in a joint statement called Kanter “a strong advocate for strengthening antitrust enforcement and promoting competition.” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said she’s looking forward to working with Kanter as “we rein in Big Tech's anti-competitive practices, put an end to monopolistic practices, and promote fairness.”

Biden’s nomination of Kanter immediately raised questions for telecom-focused lawmakers and policy stakeholders, some of whom believed a White House announcement about its DOJ Antitrust pick would happen in tandem with selections for a permanent FCC chair, a vacant seat to secure Democrats a 3-2 commission majority and an NTIA administrator. Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy’s Gigi Sohn are considered leading candidates to permanently lead the commission (see 2107090063).

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us Tuesday she still hadn’t received any word from the Biden administration on potential names for FCC seats, let alone an indication that nominations for those roles were close. She said she hasn’t backed a specific candidate for FCC chair because “the Bidens seem to know what they want” and haven’t sought her input. Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., is openly “frustrated” that Biden hasn’t named his FCC picks (see 2107200036).

Senate Communications ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., told us he would likely back Rosenworcel to permanently lead the FCC if Biden named her and would be less supportive of other potential nominees for the job. “We’d obviously have to go through the confirmation process and I’ll reserve judgment until if and when they nominate her, but she worked on” Senate Commerce “and has a lot of experience,” said Thune, who’s also Senate minority whip. “If you look at the composition of the commission today, if [the White House is] going to put” a Democratic chair in, “she’s about as good as they can do."

When confirmed, Kanter will be a “critical partner to the FTC, state attorneys general, and other agencies as we work to root out anticompetitive conduct in our economy,” tweeted FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra. Open Technology Institute Policy Counsel Christine Bannan questioned whether ethics rules will force Kanter to recuse himself from DOJ’s antitrust case against Google.

The nomination is “tremendous news for workers and consumers,” tweeted Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. “He’s been a leader in the fight to check consolidated corporate power and strengthen competition in our markets.”

“The public needs an Assistant Attorney General with both strong legal know-how and the requisite boldness to challenge gatekeepers and consolidated markets, including broadband providers and digital platforms,” said Public Knowledge Competition Policy Director Charlotte Slaiman: Kanter “fits that bill.” The MIC Coalition welcomed the nomination, saying it looks forward to working with DOJ and the Hill to “further improve transparency and strengthen the music licensing ecosystem to ensure a licensing regime that benefits all affected stakeholders.”