President Donald Trump's nominee to head the US Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, Adam Candeub, appeared before the Senate on Wednesday for a confirmation hearing that could influence the direction of major antitrust cases against Google and Apple. The hearing matters because the Antitrust Division is currently pursuing significant legal action against Big Tech firms, and the person confirmed to lead it would have considerable sway over how aggressively, and in what direction, those cases proceed.

Candeub is a long-standing telecommunications law scholar and a former official at the Federal Communications Commission, bringing regulatory experience relevant to technology and communications policy. If confirmed by the Senate, he would take charge of the division's ongoing antitrust efforts targeting major technology companies, a role that observers suggest could reshape the government's approach to policing Big Tech's market power.