The Justice Department’s top antitrust official moved Wednesday to quash mounting accusations that politics are driving the federal government’s review of one of the largest media mergers in American history, insisting that the proposed combination of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery will be judged on competition law alone, nothing more, according to Reuters.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi, who leads the DOJ’s antitrust division, told reporters that the idea enforcement had been politicized was without basis, and flatly denied that Paramount would receive any expedited path to regulatory clearance due to political factors.
Assefi’s remarks come amid a swirling controversy that has dogged the proposed deal for weeks. Analysts and observers have long noted that Paramount CEO David Ellison’s father, Oracle co-founder and billionaire Larry Ellison, has cultivated a close relationship with President Donald Trump — a connection that critics argue creates at least the appearance of preferential treatment in Washington.
A coalition of Democratic lawmakers has alleged what they call politicized favoritism in the regulatory process, pointing to those political ties as evidence that the administration’s hands-off posture toward the deal may be driven by something other than antitrust analysis.
Assefi, who recently resumed his role as acting head of the antitrust division following the departure of Gail Slater, and who previously served as special counsel to the White House during Trump’s first administration, sought to defuse those concerns by invoking the DOJ’s treatment of a rival bidder. He pointed to Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos as someone who had publicly acknowledged receiving a fair and thorough review from the department — a signal, Assefi suggested, that the division operates without favoritism regardless of who is at the table.
The deal itself is staggering in scale. Paramount and Warner Bros. agreed in late February to a transaction valued at approximately $111 billion, or $31 per share after Netflix, which had previously agreed to acquire Warner Bros.’ studio and streaming assets for $27.75 per share, declined to raise its offer and withdrew from the bidding.
A key regulatory milestone arrived on February 19, when the 10-day statutory waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act expired without the DOJ filing a motion to block the deal — a development that Paramount characterized as a federal green light, though Netflix’s chief legal officer disputed that interpretation, arguing that routine procedural milestones do not constitute regulatory approval.
The DOJ’s antitrust review process has been described by legal experts as atypical, partly because of the savvy maneuvering of Paramount’s policy team, which is led by Makan Delrahim, a former DOJ antitrust chief who served in Trump’s first term. The unusual sequencing of filings — including submitting Hart-Scott-Rodino notifications before a merger agreement was even finalized — drew scrutiny from antitrust lawyers.
A group of eight Democratic senators, led by Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, demanded that Paramount preserve all communications related to the acquisition, including any exchanges with the Trump administration or White House political appointees, citing concerns about political interference.
While the federal government appears unlikely to challenge the deal, resistance may be building at the state level. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has said his office has opened an investigation into the transaction and intends to conduct a vigorous review. Antitrust experts note that state attorneys general have become increasingly effective at building coalitions to challenge major mergers, combining resources and legal strategies that have produced a consistent track record in recent years.
The merger has also drawn opposition from the creative community. The Writers Guild of America reiterated its opposition, arguing that combining two major film and television studios and streaming services would consolidate control over the industry and reduce competition for writers, consumers, and the broader entertainment sector.
Markets reacted cautiously to Wednesday’s developments. Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery closed down roughly one percent, while Paramount fell approximately 2.5 percent on the day.
If the deal closes on its expected timeline in the third quarter of 2026, the combined company will face the substantial challenge of integrating two distinct corporate cultures, merging competing streaming platforms, and managing a heavy debt load — all while continuing to fund the expensive content pipelines that define competition in the modern media landscape. The next major milestone arrives in days: Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders are scheduled to vote on the transaction on March 20, 2026.
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