Gail Slater, the former Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, was reportedly forced to resign last week amid tensions with the Trump administration.
Note: During the first Trump administration, Slater was appointed by President Trump in February 2018 as special assistant to the president for technology, telecommunications and cybersecurity. In 2024, she served as a policy advisor for vice presidential candidate and later Vice President-elect JD Vance.
It is with great sadness and abiding hope that I leave my role as AAG for Antitrust today. It was indeed the honor of a lifetime to serve in this role. Huge thanks to all who supported me this past year, most especially the men and women of @justiceatr
— Gail Slater (@gailaslater) February 12, 2026
Critics of the Trump administration speculate that Slater’s abrupt resignation is linked to the Live Nation-Ticketmaster lawsuit, and note that shares of Live Nation jumped 5.8% after her departure announcement. (In March, the Justice Department will challenge Live Nation’s ownership of Ticketmaster in court.)
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) responded: “This is flying under the radar: Donald Trump FIRED the DOJ official in charge of suing Live Nation-Ticketmaster for monopolizing ticketing and hiking prices. Then, their stock jumped. If Trump’s DOJ takes it easy on Ticketmaster, it’ll be a slap in the face to every American.”
This is flying under the radar:
Donald Trump FIRED the DOJ official in charge of suing Live Nation-Ticketmaster for monopolizing ticketing and hiking prices.
Then, their stock jumped.
If Trump’s DOJ takes it easy on Ticketmaster, it’ll be a slap in the face to every American.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) February 18, 2026
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) also responded: “Gail Slater – one of our top antitrust enforcers- was pushed out of the Justice Department just weeks prior to the Live Nation-Ticketmaster trial. This raises serious questions about the DOJ’s commitment to protecting consumers and small businesses and we are demanding answers.”
Gail Slater – one of our top antitrust enforcers- was pushed out of the Justice Department just weeks prior to the Live Nation-Ticketmaster trial. This raises serious questions about the DOJ’s commitment to protecting consumers and small businesses and we are demanding answers: pic.twitter.com/8J0653Lqox
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) February 16, 2026
On Saturday, Klobuchar and Warren (with five other Democratic Senators*) wrote a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, asking for DOJ records related to “the firing of Gail Slater” and communications between the Department and lobbyists for Live Nation.
According to a Semafor report, “Live Nation executives and lobbyists had been negotiating with senior officials at the Department, allegedly circumventing the Antitrust Division, to avert a trial over whether the company operates an illegal monopoly that has driven up concert prices.”
One week after her resignation, Slater shared the news on social media that Live Nation lost its bid for full dismissal of the antitrust suit. She congratulated her team at the Justice Department and with a photo of the “Good Witch” from The Wizard of Oz, wrote: “You had the power all along, my dear…”
Congrats to the team @JusticeATR; proud of you. pic.twitter.com/lc3wVE5w7V
— Gail Slater (@gailaslater) February 18, 2026
* The other Senate Dems who signed the letter to Bondi are Dick Durbin (IL), Richard Blumenthal (CT), Peter Welch (VT), Adam Schiff (CA), and Mazie Hirono (HI).