DOJ Winks At Paramount-Warner Merger Amid Cronyism Concerns
NEWS & RESEARCH
In June 2026, the Department of Justice (DOJ) approved Paramount's $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), clearing the merger despite antitrust concerns. The deal unites two major news networks, CNN and CBS News, and two streaming platforms, Paramount+ and HBO Max, under a single company's control, but DOJ claims that the merger poses no threats to competition. The Trump administration approved the deal without requiring that Paramount divest any assets or agree to other concessions. The decision comes after a dinner that Paramount hosted “to honor the White House” while the DOJ’s review was still underway. Acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche, the head of the DOJ, was in attendance. Paramount’s biggest shareholder, Larry Ellison, is a close friend of Donald Trump.
SOURCES: CNN | New York Times | Politico
ANALYSIS & OPINION
According to CNN, DOJ's "entire regulatory review was clouded by charges of political favoritism and cronyism." Craig Aaron, co-CEO of Free Press, agrees, calling it "one of the most shallow and corrupt merger review processes we've ever seen" and argues that DOJ officials found no reason to block the deal simply because they didn't look for one. The consolidation carries consequences beyond the deal itself, particularly as Trump has increasingly sought greater control over media narratives: with so many outlets under one company's roof, critics warn Americans could end up with less independent journalism. Paramount has already shown a willingness to shape coverage to please the president—one 60 Minutes correspondent says CBS News, which Paramount owns, fired her after she refused to insert political bias into her stories. More than a thousand Hollywood directors, producers, and actors have also opposed the merger, warning in an open letter that it could trigger mass layoffs and fewer opportunities for creators.
SOURCES: CNN | Democracy Now | New York Times | Variety
HOW TO FIX IT
Federal action:
Pass the CLEAN (Correcting Lapsed Enforcement in Antitrust Norms) Mergers Act, which would require divestiture of any $10B+ merger approved under the second Trump administration unless the companies prove it didn't harm competition. It would also extend the window for states to challenge mergers from four years to ten years. The bill explicitly cites the Paramount-WBD deal as a motivating example.
Pass the Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act (CALERA), which would strengthen prohibitions against anticompetitive mergers and shift the burden onto companies to prove a deal won't harm competition, rather than requiring regulators to prove that it will. It would also increase funding for the DOJ's Antitrust Division.
Pass the Inspector General Access Act, which would empower the DOJ's Inspector General (IG) to investigate professional misconduct within the department, such as the allegations of political favoritism in this case. Currently, such complaints fall only under the Office of Professional Responsibility, which reports to the same DOJ leadership accused of that favoritism, underscoring the conflict of interest this bill would address.
Pass the Protecting Our Democracy Act (PODA), which contains the Security from Political Interference in Justice Act (originally introduced as a standalone bill). This legislation would require the White House and DOJ to keep an ongoing record of their communications in order to maintain transparency and accountability and “prevent the executive from eroding DOJ’s independence through political interference.”
Urge the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to block Paramount's use of this foreign funding for the deal. Current law caps foreign ownership of a broadcast company at 25%, but Paramount funded almost 50% of the deal with foreign money—the majority of which comes from governments in the Middle East. The FCC is currently reviewing the acquisition, and senators have sent a letter urging the agency to release all of the documents and take public comment before granting approval. Sen. Cory Booker also urged the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to investigate the case for the same reasons. While both paths could stifle this particular merger, they wouldn't address the deeper issue of an increasingly politicized DOJ.
State action:
State Attorneys General (AGs) could sue to block the merger. The California Department of Justice is currently reviewing the transaction. AGs from other states, including New York, also listened in on the conversations between Ellison and DOJ officials and could bring their own case.
International action:
International regulators in the European Union and the United Kingdom are also reviewing the deal.
Legislation: S.4434 - CLEAN Mergers Act | S.130 - Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act | S.3307 - Inspector General Access Act of 2025 | S.2838 - Protecting Our Democracy Act | S.1915 - Security from Political Interference in Justice Act of 2019
