Abigail Slater to Lead Antitrust Division at Department of Justice
Slater earned significant bipartisan support in the Senate for this job.
President Donald Trump’s nominees to the U.S. Department of Justice have sparked significant partisan divides so far. However, the U.S. Senate confirmed one nominee today that enjoyed a swell of bipartisan support - though one Republican Senator still voted in opposition.
In a 78-19 vote, Abigail Slater was confirmed as Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division. The position has been held by two separate acting officials since December 2024, when Jonathan Kanter resigned after serving since November 2021.
51 Republicans, 26 Democrats and 1 Independent approved Slater’s nomination. Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky and Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont joined 17 Democrats in opposition. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA) and Jim Justice (R-WV) did not vote.
Slater was nominated to this position by Trump in December 2024. She worked as a Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy on the White House National Economic Council in 2018. In 2024, she became an Economic Policy Advisor to then-Senator JD Vance and later a consultant for the Trump-Vance 2024 presidential transition.
Stater’s legal career began as an associate at the British law firm Freshfields from 1997 to 2004 - working in the London, Brussels and D.C. offices. She moved to the United States to become a staff attorney for the Federal Trade Commission in 2004. In 2011, she became attorney advisor to FTC Commissioner Julie Brill. She left the FTC in 2014.
From 2014 to 2018, Slater joined the lobbying group Internet Association - first as Vice President of Legal & Regulatory Policy and later as General Counsel. After leaving the White House, she served as Senior Vice President of Policy & Strategy at Fox Corporation from 2019 to 2022. And finally, she was Vice President of Public Policy at Roku Inc. from 2022 to 2023.