EXCLUSIVE: Career staff at Department of Justice gave go ahead on Discover acquisition

The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) approved Capital One Bank’s acquisition of credit card giant Discover last week.

In February 2024, the two banks announced a $35 billion dollar deal. The Biden administration’s DOJ had scrutinized this deal, however it was approved last week by President Donald Trump’s appointment to run the Antitrust Division, Gail Slater — a former top policy adviser to Vice President JD Vance, who has been praised as an antitrust hawk on competition policy. A source close to Trump told the Washington Reporter that “Slater is one of his best picks. She is pro-innovation, pro-competition, and pro-enforcement.”

Three sources familiar with the merger told the Reporter that it was ultimately the career staff of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division that approved this deal, given they were working on the review for over a year. In a DOJ letter obtained by the Reporter it was made clear that the Comptroller of the Currency was made aware of the situation and did not push back.

The letter, addressed to Acting Comptroller of Currency and Chairman of the Federal Reserve, states: “at the request of your agencies, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice submits the following report on the potential competitive effects of the Capital One Financial Corporation’s proposed $35 billion acquisition of Discover Financial Services.”

Slater, who signed the letter, was not part of the initial review, as it preceded her by over a year. Instead, career staff in the division reviewed and made the recommendation to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve that it would be hard to challenge the merger on antitrust grounds. The Department of Justice, Federal Reserve, and Comptroller of Currency declined to comment.