Biden’s Bid to Reshape Competition Law Thwarted by Trump Win

Donald Trump’s return to the White House likely portends a rollback of some of the Biden administration’s competition initiatives and an end to an M&A enforcement regime centered on deterrence.

While it’s uncommon for antitrust agencies to drop cases brought by the previous administration, there was little gulf between the parties on competition policy in prior decades. As Biden’s antitrust leaders sought to revive aggressive enforcement, a sharper divide emerged. An overhaul of federal merger guidelines and the Federal Trade Commission’s push to ban worker noncompete contracts are now in doubt.

“The big questions will be the ongoing litigation,” Stephen ...