(WASHINGTON) — Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) penned a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday, demanding an explanation for the circumstances around the resignation of Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater, who led the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.
Slater resigned on Feb. 12, amid reports of tension between her and Bondi on how the department should handle some high-profile antitrust cases. Raskin and Nadler claimed the resignation was forced by the Trump administration.
“With the departure of AAG Slater, it appears there are no longer any principled experts left to guard the Antitrust Division from this cascade of corruption,” Nadler and Raskin wrote.
Raskin is the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, while Nadler is the Democratic lead on the subcommittee involving antitrust.
The letter also praised a former member of Slater’s team, Roger Alford, who was fired in July of 2025 for “insubordination,” for deciding to “blow the whistle” on tensions within the department. In an August 2025 speech, Alford publicly criticized the department’s decision to drop an announced lawsuit to block a merger between Hewlett Packard Enterprises and Juniper, two of the largest produc ers of technology that creates Wi-Fi.
Alford, who also made it clear in the speech that he’s still supportive of “Trump’s populist conservative agenda,” called Slater and others in the antitrust department “wonderful colleagues”.
“The same cannot be said for senior leadership above and around her,” Alford said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice referred Capital News Service to Bondi’s statement at the time of Slater’s resignation.
“On behalf of the Department of Justice, we thank Gail Slater for her service to the Antitrust Division, which works to protect consumers, promote affordability, and expand economic opportunity,” Bondi said.
The spokesperson did not offer a response to CNS questions about if and when they plan to brief the committee, what led to Slater’s resignation, or plans for potential replacements.
Raskin and Nadler claimed that Slater’s departure will lead to a leadership vacuum in the Antitrust Division, while they are dealing with major cases like their pending lawsuit against Live Nation-Ticketmaster.
The two demanded that Bondi make a response to schedule a briefing with the committee’s Democratic members by March 4.