Senate Dem Threatens Companies Courting Trump’s Favor for Mergers: ‘We’re Going to Break’ You Up

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) warned business leaders who he sees as cozying up to President Donald Trump to get mergers approved that once Democrats return to power, “we’re going to break up your companies.”

Gallego made the comment to Semafor, and it was included in a larger piece about Democrats weighing “how harshly to go after firms that courted Trump.”

The article ran amid the news that Paramount, a company owned by Trump ally David Ellison, is moving closer to a takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery – which would include major media properties like CNN. If the merger were to go through, CNN, CBS, HBO Max, and various other media behemoths would all be under one roof.

“Once we take power, whoever the president is, we’re going to break up your companies,” Gallego told Semafor. “So all the investment you did to create these mergers are going to be for naught. Your investors are going to be pissed at you, and you’re likely going to end up getting fired as the CEO because you wasted so much money and corrupted yourself in the process.”

The Arizona Democrat later added on social media, “We have to make it so painful that generations from now CEOs will flinch at the idea of business corruptly teaming up with government.”

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) offered a similar sentiment, writing on X, “Paramount should enjoy its growing news monopoly while they have it because when Democrats win back power we are going to break up these anti-democratic information conglomerates. All of them.” Gallego replied to Murphy, “Damn right.”

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