Trump Taps Ex-Bush Antitrust Official to Justice Dept. Transition Team - Reports

US President-elect Donald Trump selected former George W. Bush administration antitrust official David Higbee to his transition team for the Justice Department signaling a possible return to a laissez-fair approach to corporate mergers, media reported on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Higbee joins former Federal Trade Commission commissioner Joshua Wright as the only members of Trump’s transition team with considerable antitrust experience, the report claimed.

"Lawyers say the selection [Higbee] signifies a more detached approach to antitrust enforcement compared to Democratic President Barack Obama," Newsline reported.

Trump crusaded on a populist platform, the report added, and criticized the AT& T and Time Warner merger, but Higbee’s selection indicates that he might revert to conventional Republican views.

Higbee previously served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and is currently a partner at Hunton and Williams law firm.