9 former DOJ antitrust chiefs urge Senate to substantiate Jonathan Kanter as antitrust head

9 former chiefs of the Justice Division’s Antitrust Division wrote to leaders of the Senate and its Judiciary Committee Thursday, urging them to confirm President Joe Biden’s nominee to the position, Jonathan Kanter.

The letter is a putting present of bipartisan help behind Kanter, who was a progressive favourite for the function and a critic of Huge Tech. The signatories embrace not less than one consultant from each administration since President Gerald Ford. Former President Donald Trump’s antitrust head, Makan Delrahim, is amongst them.

“Though we could disagree on some antitrust points, we share two necessary convictions,” the previous officers wrote. “First, the Antitrust Division wants a pacesetter who is sensible and skilled, who appreciates the necessary function antitrust enforcement performs in our financial system and who’s able to inspiring the gifted women and men of the Division to proceed their efforts to advertise competitors in all sectors of the financial system. Second, we agree that Jonathan Kanter has the expertise and the management abilities to do the job nicely.”

They added that a number of of the signatories had seen Kanter’s work firsthand whereas he labored as a trial legal professional on the Federal Commerce Fee and later as a non-public observe legal professional.

“He is aware of the substance of antitrust. He appreciates its significance to the American client. He is a great and articulate advocate. He respects his adversaries and evokes his colleagues and co-counsel,” they wrote. “In brief, we imagine Mr. Kanter is correct for this necessary place.”

Right here is the complete checklist of signatories:

Donald I. Baker, Assistant Lawyer Common 1976 – 1977

Sanford Litvack, Assistant Lawyer Common 1980 – 1981

Charles F. Rule, Assistant Lawyer Common 1986 – 1989

James F. Rill, Assistant Lawyer Common 1989 – 1992

Joel I. Klein, Assistant Lawyer Common 1996 – 2000

Thomas O. Barnett, Assistant Lawyer Common 2006 – 2008

Christine A. Varney, Assistant Lawyer Common 2009 – 2011

William J. Baer, Assistant Lawyer Common 2013 – 2016

Makan Delrahim, Assistant Lawyer Common 2017 – 2021

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