Updated May 27, 2026 / 3:40 PM EDT
Adam Candeub, a conservative critic of big tech, is reportedly the leading candidate to become assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, sources told CBS News. He currently serves as general counsel at the Federal Communications Commission, working for Chairman Brendan Carr, and previously pushed for tougher measures against social media platforms during President Trump’s first term. Candeub did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Antitrust Division role oversees merger reviews, enforcement against price-fixing and other competition matters. Omeed Assefi, the acting assistant attorney general who supervised a controversial settlement with concert and ticketing giant Live Nation, is due to depart next month; he had long planned to leave in June for family reasons. A final decision on a permanent replacement has not been announced, and the White House said there were no personnel announcements at this time.
Other recent interviewees for the post include Mike Murray, a former Justice Department lawyer who co-chairs the antitrust practice at Paul Hastings LLP, and Adam Cella, a lawyer for House Republicans, according to sources. Candeub was also a senior fellow at the Center for Renewing America, a conservative think tank founded by Russell Vought.
Whoever is selected will handle high-profile merger reviews, including the pending deal between Warner Bros. and Paramount Skydance, the parent company of CBS News.
The Antitrust Division has faced internal and external controversy in recent months. Assefi stepped into the acting role after the February termination of Abigail Slater following clashes with senior DOJ officials. A month after Slater’s ouster, the department announced a settlement with Live Nation in a case brought by DOJ and multiple states — a resolution that surprised many state attorneys general and some Justice Department trial lawyers. A coalition of 30 states declined to sign the settlement and continued to trial; in April, a New York federal judge found that Live Nation and its Ticketmaster unit had operated as an illegal monopoly.
Critics say the Trump administration’s second term has been more permissive toward corporate mergers, noting a series of settlements that antitrust advocates view as weaker enforcement. “The level of settlements has made it quite clear that antitrust is dead during Trump’s second term,” said Reed Showalter, a former DOJ antitrust counsel who is now running for Congress.
Sources said some career trial attorneys felt sidelined in the Live Nation negotiations, with the negotiating team separate from the trial team. The Justice Department praised Assefi for his service while acknowledging his planned departure.
No official appointment has been announced.