All the President's Mergers.

The article focuses on how the Trump administration leveraged federal merger-review powers to exert influence over corporate transactions, particularly in the steel and media industries. It details the use of regulatory agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, to approve or block mergers, sometimes attaching conditions or extracting concessions. Notably, the administration secured a "golden share" in U.S. Steel to control company decisions and influenced media mergers involving Paramount, CBS, and Warner Bros. Discovery, intertwining regulatory approval with political and personal interests. The article highlights concerns about the concentration of merger-review authority in the executive branch and suggests that Congress could reform or limit these powers to prevent future abuses. [Extracted from the article]