Trump Appoints One of His Lawyers to Review Mergers -<br />By CECILIA KANGMARCH 27, 2017<br />WASHINGTON — President Trump on Monday named Makan Delrahim, a former government antitrust enforcer<br />and corporate lobbyist, to lead the Justice Department’s review of mergers and acquisitions.<br />Mr. Delrahim, who serves as legal counsel to the president, will be quickly tested in his new<br />position by AT&T’s $85 billion bid for Time Warner, which is set to be reviewed this year.<br />The Obama administration had blocked dozens of blockbuster deals over the past eight years, including<br />AT&T’s bid for T-Mobile in 2011 and Comcast’s merger with Time Warner Cable in 2015.<br />The review of AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner has drawn speculation because of promises Mr. Trump made on the campaign trail to block the deal.<br />A version of this article appears in print on March 28, 2017, on Page B6 of the New<br />York edition with the headline: President Taps an Insider to Review Mergers.<br />Mr. Trump’s disdain for news coverage by CNN, which is owned by Time Warner, has<br />raised questions over whether the president may try to influence the deal.
