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Makan Delrahim

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Makan Delrahim
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division
In office
September 28, 2017 – January 20, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byWilliam Baer
Succeeded byJonathan Kanter
Personal details
Born (1969-11-02) November 2, 1969 (age 55)
Tehran, Iran
Political partyRepublican
EducationUniversity of California, Los Angeles (BS)
George Washington University (JD)
Johns Hopkins University (MS)

Makan Delrahim (/ˈmeɪkən ˌdɛlrəˈhiːm/;[1] born November 2, 1969) is an Iranian-American attorney and lobbyist. From 2017 to 2021, Delrahim served under President Donald Trump as Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice Antitrust Division.[2]

Early life and education

Delrahim was born on November 2, 1969, in Tehran, Iran. His family are Persian Jews who immigrated to the United States in 1979.[3] Like many other Iranian Jewish immigrants, Delrahim's family settled in Los Angeles, California.[4] His father made a living operating a gas station outside of greater Los Angeles, which Delrahim once worked at part-time.[3]

Delrahim initially struggled in elementary school because he did not speak English. Nevertheless, Delrahim excelled in his studies in high school, which allowed him to gain admission to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Delrahim graduated from UCLA in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in kinesiology, as well as a Specialization in Business/Economics.[3]

Rather than pursue a career in kinesiology, Delrahim decided to become a lawyer, applying and gaining admission to the George Washington University Law School. Delrahim became a naturalized U.S. citizen while in law school,[4] and graduated in 1995 with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree.[3] Delrahim later earned a Master of Science (M.S.) in biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University in 2002.

Early career

While in law school, Delrahim worked at the Office of Technology Transfer at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and on intellectual property (IP) issues at the Office of the United States Trade Representative. After law school, Delrahim joined Washington, D.C. law firm Patton Boggs.[3]

In 1998, Delrahim became a counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, where he worked under chairman, Orrin Hatch.[3] Delrahim has been described as a protégé of Hatch. During his period, Delrahim worked on intellectual property and antitrust issues, including patent reform and the then-ongoing investigation into Microsoft.

Delrahim later became the Chief of Staff and Chief Counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee, serving in this capacity until his appointment to the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2003. Jon Leibowitz, who would later serve under President Barack Obama as chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), worked with Delrahim during this period as a Democratic aide on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leibowitz later spoke favorably about Delrahim, stating that Delrahim displayed both creativity and pragmatism in this position.[3]

Initial tenure at the DOJ Antitrust Division

From 2003 through 2005, Delrahim served under President George W. Bush as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ Antitrust Division.[5] During his initial tenure at the Antitrust Division, Delrahim was tasked with overseeing the Division's International, Appellate and Policy sections, and also served as the Chairman of the Merger Working Group of the International Competition Network.

Delrahim later served as a commissioner on the bipartisan blue ribbon Antitrust Modernization Commission. At the Antitrust Modernization Commission, Delrahim served along with former Chiefs of the Antitrust Division, Sanford Litvack and John Shenefield, as well as ABA Antitrust Section Chair Jon Jacobson.

Post-Bush Administration

After leaving the Department of Justice, Delrahim joined the law firm of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, in Los Angeles. He lobbied on behalf of clients such as Comcast, Google, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Johnson & Johnson, and Ultimate Fighting Championship.[3][6][7][8]

Delrahim in 2014

In October 2016, Delrahim commented on AT&T's proposed $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner while appearing on Canada's Business News Network, saying "I don't see this as a major antitrust problem."[9][10]

Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Division

Nomination

In March 2017, Trump announced his nomination of Delrahim as Assistant Attorney General for the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division.[11][12] This role, which required U.S. Senate confirmation, entails overseeing criminal cartel enforcement as well as corporate mergers and acquisitions.[6] In September 2017, he was approved 73–21 by the U.S. Senate.[13][14] When he arrived on the job, he was reportedly gifted a hat with "Makan Antitrust Great Again" (a play on Delrahim's first name and "Make America Great Again") written on it by DOJ staff.[15]

Tenure and positions on antitrust

When interviewed, Delrahim emphasized that under U.S. law, a monopoly is legal as long as it does not abuse its monopoly power.[3] Delrahim has given speeches arguing that behavioral remedies in consent decrees to remedy an otherwise illegal merger are ineffective and that antitrust enforcers should instead employ structural remedies such as divestment.[16] During his tenure, Delrahim took some anti-monopoly stances on certain antitrust issues while taking less aggressive stances on others, with The Wall Street Journal stating that he "sometimes bucked expectations."[17] Delrahim was reportedly considered for the position of Attorney General after the resignation of Jeff Sessions,[18] though he was ultimately not chosen for the role.

On November 20, 2017, Delrahim filed a lawsuit under Section 7 of the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 to block AT&T's $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner.[19] On June 12, 2018, U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon rejected the government's claims and refused to block the merger.[20] The Department of Justice has since appealed this outcome.[21] On May 29, 2018, Delrahim approved Bayer's $66 billion acquisition of Monsanto.[22][23] Delrahim recused himself from Department of Justice antitrust scrutiny of Google owing to his past consulting work for the company.[24]

In September 2018, Delrahim fired a DOJ paralegal after she participated in a protest against Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen. An internal DOJ investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing on behalf of the paralegal, but Delrahim dismissed the conclusion of the investigation and fired her.[25] In 2020, Delrahim undertook a reorganization of the DOJ's antitrust division.[26]

Post-government tenure

In 2021, Delrahim signed onto a letter alongside eight other former Assistant Attorneys General for the Antitrust Division in support of Jonathan Kanter, Joe Biden's nominee for the position.[27]

Political activity

In March 2016, Delrahim published an op-ed in the New York Post arguing that due to the importance of future U.S. Supreme Court nominations, Republicans should support Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton.[28]

After Trump's victory in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Delrahim was active in Trump's presidential transition. After the inauguration of Donald Trump, Delrahim became Deputy White House Counsel and assisted in shepherding United States Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch through the United States Senate confirmation process.

References

  1. ^ Opening Remarks: Makan Delrahim, Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust. The Justice Department. May 18, 2021. 0:49 minutes in.
  2. ^ Barber, C. Ryan (March 28, 2017). "What to Know About Makan Delrahim, Trump's Antitrust Division Pick". The National Law Journal. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kang, Cecilia (April 26, 2017). "How Trump's Pick for Top Antitrust Cop May Shape Competition". The New York Times. p. A15. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  4. ^ a b U.S. Department of Justice (September 28, 2018). "Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim Delivers Remarks at Naturalization Ceremony in Washington, D.C." www.justice.gov. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  5. ^ Kendall, Brent (March 17, 2017). "Makan Delrahim to Be Trump's Pick for Antitrust Chief at Justice Department". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  6. ^ a b Bartz, Diana; Herbst-Bayliss, Svea (March 17, 2017). "Exclusive: Delrahim to head Justice Department antitrust unit – sources". Reuters. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  7. ^ Press |, Associated (June 1, 2007). "Google hires former DOJ lawyer to lobby on DoubleClick deal". The Mercury News. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  8. ^ "Senator Warren urges antitrust chief to recuse himself from Google,..." Reuters. June 12, 2019. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  9. ^ "No big worries in AT&T deal for Time Warner". Business News Network. October 24, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  10. ^ Kang, Cecilia (November 10, 2017). "AT&T Deal Puts Trump's Antitrust Cop at Center of a Political Storm". The New York Times. p. B1. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  11. ^ Kang, Cecilia (March 28, 2017). "Trump Appoints One of His Lawyers to Review Mergers". The New York Times. p. B6. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  12. ^ Pres. Nom. 249, 115th Cong. (2017).
  13. ^ "Attorney General Jeff Sessions Welcomes Makan Delrahim as Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division | OPA | Department of Justice". Justice.gov. September 27, 2017. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  14. ^ "Trump's Top Merger Watchdog Approved". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. September 27, 2017. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
  15. ^ Kang, Cecilia (November 10, 2017). "AT&T Deal Puts Trump's Antitrust Cop at Center of a Political Storm". The New York Times. p. B1. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  16. ^ Kang, Cecilia; Merced, Michael J. de la (November 21, 2017). "U.S. Sues to Stop AT&T's Takeover of Time Warner – New Tack on Antitrust – Regulators Seek Sale of Assets — AT&T Says Suit 'Defies Logic'". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  17. ^ Kendall, Brent (January 14, 2021). "Departing Antitrust Chief Backs Changes to Strengthen Enforcement". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  18. ^ Jarrett, By Pamela Brown, Ariane de Vogue, Kevin Liptak and Laura (November 29, 2018). "Former Trump White House lawyer emerges as a contender for attorney general | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved October 5, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Fung, Brian (November 21, 2017). "The Justice Department is suing AT&T to block its $85 billion bid for Time Warner". The Washington Post. p. A1. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  20. ^ Kang, Cecilia; Lee, Edmund; Cochrane, Emily (June 13, 2018). "AT&T Wins Approval for $85.4 Billion Time Warner Deal in Defeat for Justice Dept". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  21. ^ "Trump Antitrust Boss Restarts AT&T-Time Warner Fight With Appeal". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  22. ^ McLaughlin, David; Mulvany, Lydia; Kresge, Naomi (May 29, 2018). "Bayer Wins U.S. Approval for Monsanto After Two-Year Quest". Bloomberg News. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  23. ^ Press release (May 29, 2018). "Justice Department Secures Largest Negotiated Merger Divestiture Ever to Preserve Competition Threatened by Bayer's Acquisition of Monsanto". United States Department of Justice. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  24. ^ Kang, Cecilia (February 4, 2020). "Top Antitrust Official Is Said to Recuse Himself From Google Inquiry". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  25. ^ Weill, Kelly (September 26, 2018). "Top Justice Department Official Canned Paralegal After Anti-Trump Protest". The Daily Beast. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  26. ^ Kendall, Brent (August 20, 2020). "Justice Department's Antitrust Chief Plans Shake Up for Stronger Enforcement". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  27. ^ Feiner, Lauren (September 24, 2021). "Nine former DOJ antitrust chiefs urge Senate to confirm Jonathan Kanter as antitrust head". CNBC. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  28. ^ Delrahim, Makan (March 10, 2016). "To save the Supreme Court, vote Trump over Clinton". New York Post. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
Legal offices
Preceded by United States Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division
2017–2021 		Succeeded by
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