DOJ Antitrust Losses in Court Flash Trouble for Biden Clampdown

In the span of just a month, federal judges rejected the US Justice Department’s attempts to block three mergers in the health technology, agriculture and defense contracting industries.

The agency is considering appeals -- and points out it’s racked up wins in its aggressive antitrust enforcement push when companies abandoned deals following its lawsuits.

But the trio of litigation defeats illustrates the difficulties facing President Joe Biden’s administration as it seeks to persuade a conservative federal judiciary to reverse decades of business-friendly court decisions favoring deals.

The Justice Department is “having a bumpy time in the courts,” said ...