Orrock LXXXVI XLVII

#MattStoller So what’s actually going on? Is Trump sincere? Is he unveiling a real new agenda? To answer that question, I want to offer a fourth event, one that few outside of the antitrust world noticed. And that is, the largest real estate brokerage in America, Compass, cleared its $1.6 billion purchase of Anywhere Real Estate, which owns Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Corcoran and Sotheby’s International Realty. The deal cleared much earlier than the companies themselves expected it to. Why? Corruption.

The head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, Gail Slater, wanted to launch an extended review of the merger to weigh whether it was anticompetitive, the people familiar with the matter said. Compass and its lawyers appealed above her, to the office of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, arguing that any worries could be addressed without an investigation. Blanche’s office agreed, the people said.

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Jan 12 at 10:09pmWeb
Show threadOrrock LXXXVI XLVIIJan 12

2/ Compass had brought on Trump-aligned lawyer Mike Davis, known for his efforts to get conservative judges seated on the federal bench, to help make their pitch. Davis has become a sought-after adviser to companies with deals facing government review. He helped Compass make its case to Blanche’s office.

It’s not clear exactly what happened, but the details are less important than the outcome. This acquisition is part of the race to monopolize home buying, and it was a highly controversial merger because it will allow Compass to have exclusive power to list properties all over the country, presumably charging higher prices or gaining leverage against brokers.
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Show threadOrrock LXXXVI XLVIIJan 12
3/🧵 continued Under Biden, antitrust enforcers tried to address the payments system by bringing an antitrust case against Visa over the private sales tax it levies on most retail transactions. There’s more. Biden’s head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Rohit Chopra, had an entire framework for addressing credit card market power, including publishing research that Trump used on the campaign trail. He blocked comparison sites from steering consumers to high cost credit cards, and wrote a rule to end unfair late fees.
Show threadOrrock LXXXVI XLVIIJan 12
4/ Has any of that continued? So far, the antitrust case is moving forward, but Trump’s CFPB, led by conservative official Russ Vought, withdrew the late fee rule in April. They have also destroyed the CFPB. And the Antitrust Division, led by a meek official named Gail Slater, worsened consolidation by waiving through the Capital One-Discover merger, which was likely illegal and very ugly for poor people. The result of the Trump administration’s 2025 policy framework was the near-billion dollar payday for Dimon, and much higher bonuses on Wall Street.
Show threadOrrock LXXXVI XLVIIJan 12
5/ Joe Biden’s administration is a good way to map this out. When he took office, Biden got a lot of what he wanted, passing his main agenda of Covid restrictions, semiconductor support, infrastructure and stimulus, plus continued bailouts of Wall Street through executing the CARES Act. He withdrew the military from Afghanistan. He put a cabinet in place with reliable bank-friendly people, like Janet Yellen at Treasury, Jay Powell at the Fed, and Gina Raimondo at Commerce.
Show threadOrrock LXXXVI XLVIIJan 12
6/ As a result, he couldn’t pivot to address a new problem - corporate profiteering leading to high prices. In September of 2021, as inflation kicked up, some Biden officials announced the administration would crackdown on meat processors. It was too late. Biden had already picked his USDA chief, a former corporate lobbyist named Tom Vilsack, and he didn’t have the team or consensus to execute. In 2022, Biden announced forgiveness of student debt, but by then the courts had become comfortable knocking down the policies of an increasingly unpopular leader. By late 2024, Biden called for a national rent control law, capping rent increases at 5% a year. It barely registered. Biden was in cognitive decline, but people had stopped listening to him because what he said didn’t matter, not because he was old./end
Show threadJeffy 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🇺🇦 ❤️🇱🇺Jan 12

@orrickle saying Biden “was unpopular” is an odd choice. As is the choice to switch to a passive voice in talking about this particular aspect.

BIden was the first POTUS in modern history to NOT enjoy the distance of his predecessor in the office.

We’ve been hearing about Trump for more than A DECADE. Why? Because media is profit-motivated.