Is anyone gonna review this AT&T–Time Warner merger or what?

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It seems that the pending AT&T–Time Warner merger continues to be a political hot potato, with different factions of government and industry continuing to argue over who will review it. Whether the merger ends up at the Department of Justice alone or at the DOJ and the Federal Communications Commission will make all the difference: DOJ policies make it likely to approve the merger, whereas the FCC, even with its corporation-friendly chairman, will have to give it a more rigorous review that could kill the deal or at least place some restrictions on it.

As you may remember, back in the strange world of 2016, then-candidate Donald Trump expressed very clear opposition to the proposed merger, saying it was “a deal we will not approve.” That seems clear cut, except it’s Trump, so... maybe not. And while he can pressure the FCC to act one way or another, the commission is technically independent and out of his complete control. News Corporation / 21st Century Fox overlord Rupert Murdoch “now regularly lobbies Trump against AT&T and Time Warner's tie-up,” trying to have him get it under the FCC’s review so that the commission can block it. The FCC’s lone Democratic commissioner, Mignon Clyburn, is also trying to get some say over the merger.


Is anyone gonna review this AT&T–Time Warner merger or what?