Trump taps Vance staffer to head DOJ’s antitrust division

President-elect Donald Trump will name his former tech policy aide Gail Slater to head the Justice Department’s antitrust division, he announced on social media Wednesday.

Slater is a well-known figure in Washington circles and joined the Senate office of Vice President-elect JD Vance earlier this year as an economic policy adviser. If confirmed by the Senate, Slater will replace Jonathan Kanter and grapple with the various antitrust lawsuits and investigations against the tech industry and other sectors already underway.

Slater, whose nomination isn’t likely to face much opposition on Capitol Hill, worked as a special assistant to Trump on tech, telecom and cybersecurity issues during his first term and advocated for a free-market approach to 5G wireless technology.

Her previous roles include posts at streaming company Roku, Fox Corp. and the shuttered tech industry trade group the Internet Association.