Warren no longer blocking Trump antitrust nominee: report

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is no longer blocking President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, Reuters reported.

Warren on Friday reportedly lifted her hold and will allow the Senate to vote on Makan Delrahim’s confirmation. Delrahim was nominated by Trump in March.

The Massachusetts progressive met with Trump’s pick earlier in September and they discussed his lobbying career and her concerns about political interference on antitrust decisions.

{mosads}Warren has pointed to Delrahim’s nomination as an example of the Trump administration’s willingness to put the “interests of giant corporations ahead of the American people.”

The deputy White House counsel previously lobbied for Anthem in its attempted merger with Cigna.

Warren’s office and the White House did not immediately return The Hill’s request for comment.

The Massachusetts senator has expressed concern over Trump trying to influence corporate mergers and acquisitions, which he threatened to do on the campaign trail.

In the fall, Trump had said he would attempt to block AT&T’s pending $85 billion merger with Time Warner, which owns CNN. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has said that he will not let politics influence antitrust decisions.

The DOJ is still reviewing the AT&T-Time Warner merger, which the companies expect will be finalized by the end of the year.