Corporate America skirting the law to lobby Trump on key deals: report

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby went straight to the top last month, pitching President Donald Trump on a blockbuster merger with rival American Airlines during a private meeting.

According to Axios, the move signals a seismic shift in how corporate America now operates: if you want antitrust approval, skip the bureaucrats and go directly to Trump.

It's a dramatic departure from business as usual. Under former President Joe Biden, the Justice Department aggressively blocked megamergers, notably rejecting JetBlue's attempt to buy Spirit Airlines despite a much smaller combined 8 percent market share than a hypothetical merger of United and American. But Trump's administration has gutted its antitrust enforcement team, forcing out top officials who pushed back on controversial settlements.

According to the report, the new playbook for large companies looking to skirt antitrust law is simple: bypass career prosecutors and pitch directly to senior leadership — or the president himself. The strategy appears to be working, as U.S. merger and acquisition activity has surged 53 percent this year, with a great deal of consolidation taking place in the media industry specifically.

A United-American combination would be massive. Together, they'd control more than 34 percent of the U.S. airline market, dwarfing current leader Delta's 17.8 percent. Consumer advocates generally oppose such mergers, as they lead to reduced competition and higher fares.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently hinted the administration sees 'room' for airline consolidation, offering a potential green light without going into specifics. Shortly after this, shares of both United and American shares jumped.

Neither airline has confirmed active deal talks, and it remains unclear how seriously Trump took Kirby's pitch. Regardless, Axios argued, United knew exactly where to take its message.