WASHINGTON D.C.—As expected (or at least hoped for), the Department of Justice (DOJ) under President Donald Trump appears to be approaching real estate related enforcement actions very differently than it did under former President Joe Biden—or even under Trump’s first term.
According to National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy Officer Shannon McGahn, speaking to the Business Issues Policy Committee as part of NAR’s Legislative Meetings, the DOJ is “pleasantly” shifting the focus of their inquiries.
“The (Trump) administration’s priorities the last go-around were more focused on fees,” McGahn said. “The current administration is much more focused on the technology industry.”
According to McGahn, the Antitrust Division at the DOJ is seemingly pivoting to look at regulations or state laws that are “impacting the cost of housing,” following public statements and executive orders from Trump which have broadly blamed overregulation as a significant contributor to housing affordability. NAR has “a seat at the table” as part of that discussion, she said.
McGahn added that Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater, who oversees the Antitrust Division, “is someone I’ve known for years.”
“We do know many of the staff who are over there, and we’re again pleased to see they requested information on regulatory burden,” McGahn said.
McGahn did not say whether or not the DOJ has dropped or made any significant changes to its long-running investigation into NAR practices, which began and was initially concluded under the first Trump administration, but then revived under Biden. When asked by an audience member whether NAR has a “better relationship” with the current DOJ, McGahn responded that “we have consistently had relationships there.”
McGahn’s comments come as the DOJ has indicated in other places it is shifting its focus as far as NAR and real estate policy—something that McGahn noted in her discussion. In the long-running MLS PIN commission case, the Antitrust Division recently dropped its opposition to a settlement agreement after the parties shifted their deal to mirror NAR’s changes—specifically banning commission offers from the MLS.
Just last week, NAR submitted its input to the DOJ as far as the aforementioned regulations. The seven-page letter, signed by NAR President Kevin Sears, urged Antitrust Regulators to oppose rent control, to “reform” requirements that builders buy American-made materials and allow investors to use FHA loans to purchase (or flip) more condos.
In response to emailed RISMedia inquiries regarding the status of the DOJ investigation into NAR, an NAR spokesperson referred to NAR’s comments submitted to the deregulation taskforce.
Slater was only confirmed by the Senate in March, having previously served as an economic adviser to Vice President J.D. Vance when he was a U.S. Senator. She also spent 10 years at the FTC, according to her government bio.
According to a recent Politico profile, Slater is known as an aggressive antitrust enforcer, but was selected personally by Trump based on her experience in tech-related antitrust law.
At the same time, Slater highlighted a price-fixing investigation as an important aspect of “America First Antitrust” in a speech at Notre Dame following her confirmation.
Only days after her confirmation, the Antitrust Division announced the launch of the “anticompetitive regulations taskforce,” soliciting comments from stakeholders on how best to do that.
“We’re looking forward to further meetings and conversations with them, on how we can get the policy changes on to increase inventory across the country,” McGahn said.
