UCD law alumna in line for top role in Donald Trump's administration

Posted 9 December, 2024

A UCD law alumna could oversee a key position in the incoming administration of US President-Elect Donald Trump.

Dublin native Gail Slater, who advised the first Trump White House on technology policy, is to head up the antitrust division at the US Department of Justice.

A graduate of the UCD Sutherland School of Law, the 52-year-old, if confirmed, is expected to take charge of several high-profile monopoly cases against companies including Apple and Google.

Ms Slater was a tech policy adviser on the National Economic Council during Mr Trump’s first term and has been advising his transition team on antitrust and tech policy. She has also been a policy adviser for vice president-elect JD Vance.

Having grown up in Dublin, after graduating UCD, Ms Slater began her law career in London at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, which brought her to Washington.

A dual Irish-US citizen living in the United States since 2003, she is believed to be the only Irish-born member of staff in President-Elect Trump’s White House.

Previously she worked over a decade at the US Federal Trade Commission, first as an antitrust lawyer and later as an adviser to former Democratic FTC Commissioner Julie Brill in President Barack Obama’s administration.

She also has experience working for tech companies in the private sector, having acted as a lawyer at the Internet Association, a now-defunct trade association whose members included Amazon, Google and Meta.

She has also worked for tech company Roku and the media company Fox Corp.

By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer, UCD University Relations

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