WASHINGTON: The chair of the U.S. House of Representatives antitrust subcommittee pressed top regulators on Tuesday over merger decisions, including the Justice Department's approval of T-Mobile US Inc's proposed purchase of Sprint Corp .
The planned merger of the third and fourth largest wireless providers is being challenged by state attorneys general, led by California and New York. A trial in New York is underway. Cicilline asked Delrahim if he had offered lobbying advice to other merging companies and if it was appropriate to offer such advice.Cicilline also pressed the antitrust chief on a report that the Trump administration has brought fewer criminal antitrust cases, essentially price-fixing, than any in 50 years."Is it your view that market participants are no longer engaging in price-fixing at the rates they previously had?" Cicilline asked.
Cicilline asked the agency whether its practice of focusing on product overlap is enough when analyzing this and other pharmaceutical mergers.