Trump Nominates Big Tech Critic Kanter to Lead DOJ Antitrust Division
Taylor Wilson
Trump has nominated Adam Candeub, a long-time Big Tech critic, to head the DOJ's antitrust division. He would inherit the Google search-monopoly appeal and the Apple smartphone-monopoly lawsuit — signaling a harder line on competition enforcement.
Who is Candeub, and why does this pick matter?
Adam Candeub is the current general counsel of the FCC. He has been nominated for assistant attorney general for antitrust — one of the top federal competition-enforcement posts.
During Trump's first term he served at the Commerce Department, helping draft an executive order targeting Big Tech's alleged suppression of conservative speech.
This means → this is not a moderate placeholder. A vocal industry critic is being moved to the enforcement front line.
What cases land on his desk?
Two headline matters: Google's appeal of its ruling as an illegal search monopolist, and the 2024 lawsuit alleging Apple illegally monopolized the smartphone market.
Both are already in court. Candeub's role is to decide how aggressively the DOJ pushes — his posture will shape case strategy directly.
In plain terms = the lawsuits don't disappear with a new boss, but the new boss decides whether the government hits the gas or the brake.
What is his core argument against Big Tech?
In a chapter he wrote for the Heritage Foundation's *Project 2025*, Candeub stated that large internet platforms have faced "virtually no antitrust accountability," for reasons that are "not entirely clear."
He has long called for challenging Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act — the provision granting platforms broad legal immunity for user content. He argued that Facebook, Google, and Twitter use it to "advocate for an open internet while defending their censorship."
This reflects an enforcement philosophy that extends beyond market competition into the more contentious territory of platform speech governance.
He even wants to weaken the other enforcer?
Candeub has publicly questioned whether the FTC should be allowed to enforce antitrust law at all — or whether it should continue to exist.
In his *Project 2025* chapter he suggested revisiting the Supreme Court precedent supporting FTC independence — and the Court overturned that precedent this June, ruling Trump's firing of a former FTC commissioner lawful.
In plain terms = the FTC and the DOJ are the "twin engines" of U.S. antitrust. Candeub wants to pull power from one engine and concentrate it in his own.
Can he actually get confirmed?
Candeub still needs Senate confirmation. Republicans hold only a slim majority, and several Trump nominees have waited months for a vote.
Until he is in place, the antitrust division is run by acting officials and the deputy attorney general — enforcement tempo may slow.
This means → the nomination itself sends a hawkish signal, but the real policy shift waits on the Senate vote.
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