The acting assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division denied on Wednesday that politics will play a role in the federal review of the pending merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Democrats have raised concerns about the perceived political ties between President Donald Trump and Paramount CEO David Ellison. His father, Larry Ellison, is a close Trump ally who’s heavily backing the merger with his own money.
In a new interview with Reuters, acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi said Paramount will “absolutely not” receive a pass during the approval process for political reasons.
“The idea that somehow enforcement has been politicized is ludicrous,” he said without sharing specific details of the ongoing review.
“I think even Ted Sarandos has been very vocal about the fact that he had a very open and fair and thorough review under us,” the antitrust official added, referring to the Netflix co-CEO.
The streaming service ultimately backed out of the WBD bidding war, letting Paramount take the win. Ellison is now focused on getting his company’s bid across the finish line.
The DOJ is currently probing the merger for anticompetitive issues, specifically whether the deal will raise streaming prices for consumers. That was a major concern for federal lawmakers and state attorneys general regarding Netflix’s now-failed bid to acquire WBD.
If finalized, the Paramount-WBD merger is expected to raise streaming prices through market consolidation. In a recent interview with CNBC, Ellison declined to comment on pricing but confirmed that Paramount+ and HBO Max will combine into one streaming service.
He expects the deal to close by the third quarter of 2026, but that depends on whether it is held up by the DOJ review or state-level litigation. California Attorney General Rob Bonta is currently investigating the merger and exploring the possibility of an antitrust lawsuit.
HEGSETH WISHES PARAMOUNT CEO WILL OVERHAUL CNN IN WARNER BROS. MERGER
Adding to the perception of the Trump administration’s favoritism toward Paramount, War Secretary Pete Hegseth said at an unrelated press conference last week that he hopes the Paramount CEO will take over and overhaul CNN as part of the acquisition. WBD owns the news outlet.
Assefi assumed the DOJ antitrust role after his full-time predecessor, Gail Slater, resigned last month for undisclosed reasons. Slater’s office was in the middle of the merger review when she left.
