Trump Plans to Nominate FCC’s Top Lawyer to Lead Antitrust Division
FCC General Counsel Adam Candeub has the support of President Trump, New York Times reports.
WASHINGTON, June 30, 2026 – President Trump plans to nominate Adam Candeub, general counsel at the Federal Communications Commission, to lead the antitrust division at the Department of Justice, according to three people familiar with the decision, according to the New York Times.
One individual said that the president told Mr. Candeub in a Wednesday Oval Office meeting that he intended to nominate him. Federal Trade Commission chairman Andrew Ferguson and Attorney General Todd Blanche were also in attendance.
Candeub served in the first Trump administration as a deputy assistant secretary of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and became general counsel for the FCC in February. He also was an author of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, a roadmap for conservative policy proposals for the incoming Trump administration.
The FCC telecom lawyer would replace Gail Slater as the head of the antitrust division. Slater stepped down in February after about a year.
According to the sources, the White House is expected to announce the nomination in the coming days. The Senate would then vote on the nomination.
According to the New York Times, in Project 2025 Candeub wrote that big tech companies impede free speech online, listing “the interference of large internet firms with democratic political discourse” under practices that “undermine liberal democracy.”
Canedub has written papers calling for changes to Section 230, a federal legal shield that prevents internet users from suing internet companies for content on platforms.
If confirmed, Candeub would inherit a division facing challenges regarding its pullback on major lawsuits against prominent companies. The department settled a lawsuit against Live Nation this year, and in March, allowed the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger to go through.
In March, the FCC and the Antitrust Division approved TV broadcaster Nexstar Media's $6.2 billion acquisition of TEGNA Inc. In April, a federal judge blocked the merger until the antitrust lawsuit filed by DIRECTV and several state attorneys is resolved.
Candeub didn’t respond to an email seeking a comment.
