Elizabeth Warren says ‘frenzy’ of mergers under Trump could be reversed

Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren has warned that corporate mergers approved by the Trump administration – including a pending deal that would put two of America’s largest news outlets under the control of a family sympathetic to the president – could be undone by a future administration. “After 2028, we’ll have new players in Washington, and everyone who’s engaged in this merger frenzy right now is aware of that,” Warren said in an interview. “The deals that are being cut today are occurring in the shadow of a coming political tsunami of anger against these giant corporations that think they can mow through one industry after another and run up prices and suck out profits and never be held accountable.” “By 2028” – the year of the next presidential election – “they may find out they have badly miscalculated,” Warren said. The Massachusetts senator’s comments come after the justice department earlier this month approved the $111bn merger of Warner Bros Discovery, the parent company of CNN and HBO, and Paramount Skydance, which includes CBS News and is controlled by the Ellison family. The deal has prompted concerns that Larry Ellison, a longtime associate of Donald Trump, and his son, David, could reorient CNN’s coverage to be favorable to the president. After gaining control of CBS News in the merger last year that created Paramount Skydance, David Ellison appointed as editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, a conservative commentator who had no experience in television. …