Makan Delrahim
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Makan Delrahim (; born November 2, 1969) is an Iranian-American attorney and lobbyist. From 2017 to 2021, Delrahim served under President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
as Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice Antitrust Division.


Early life and education

Delrahim was born on November 2, 1969, in Tehran, Iran. His family are
Persian Jews Iranian Jews, (; ) also Persian Jews ( ) or Parsim, constitute one of the oldest communities of the Jewish diaspora. Dating back to the History of ancient Israel and Judah, biblical era, they originate from the Jews who relocated to Iran (his ...
who immigrated to the United States in 1979. Like many other Iranian Jewish immigrants, Delrahim's family settled in
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. His father made a living operating a gas station outside of greater Los Angeles, which Delrahim once worked at part-time. Delrahim initially struggled in elementary school because he did not speak English. Nevertheless, Delrahim excelled in his studies in high school, which allowed him to gain admission to the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
(UCLA). Delrahim graduated from UCLA in 1991 with a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
(B.S.) in kinesiology, as well as a Specialization in Business/Economics. Rather than pursue a career in kinesiology, Delrahim decided to become a lawyer, applying and gaining admission to the George Washington University Law School. Delrahim became a naturalized U.S. citizen while in law school, and graduated in 1995 with a
Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
(J.D.) degree. Delrahim later earned a
Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...
(M.S.) in
biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...
from
Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...
in 2002.


Legal career


Early career

While in law school, Delrahim worked at the Office of Technology Transfer at the
National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...
(NIH), and on intellectual property (IP) issues at the
Office of the United States Trade Representative The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of the United States federal government responsible for developing and promoting United States foreign trade policies. Part of the Executive Office of the President, it ...
. After law school, Delrahim joined Washington, D.C. law firm Patton Boggs. In 1998, Delrahim became a counsel to the
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...
, where he worked under chairman Orrin Hatch. Delrahim has been described as a protégé of Hatch. During his period, Delrahim worked on intellectual property and antitrust issues, including patent reform and the then-ongoing investigation into Microsoft. Delrahim later became the Chief of Staff and Chief Counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee, serving in this capacity until his appointment to the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2003. Jon Leibowitz, who would later serve under President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
as chair of the
Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...
(FTC), worked with Delrahim during this period as a Democratic aide on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leibowitz later spoke favorably about Delrahim, stating that Delrahim displayed both creativity and pragmatism in this position.


Initial tenure at the DOJ Antitrust Division

From 2003 through 2005, Delrahim served under President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ Antitrust Division. During his initial tenure at the Antitrust Division, Delrahim was tasked with overseeing the Division's International, Appellate and Policy sections, and also served as the Chairman of the Merger Working Group of the International Competition Network. Delrahim later served as a commissioner on the
bipartisan Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing Political party, politica ...
blue ribbon Antitrust Modernization Commission. At the Antitrust Modernization Commission, Delrahim served along with former Chiefs of the Antitrust Division, Sanford Litvack and John Shenefield, as well as ABA Antitrust Section Chair Jon Jacobson.


Post-Bush administration

After leaving the Department of Justice, Delrahim joined the law firm of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, in Los Angeles. He lobbied on behalf of clients such as
Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...
,
Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
,
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, also known as BCBS, BCBSA, or The Blues, is a United States–based federation with 33 independent and locally operated BCBSA companies that provide health insurance to more than 115 million people in the U ...
, Johnson & Johnson, and
Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...
. In October 2016, Delrahim commented on
AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...
's proposed $85.4 billion acquisition of
Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City. It was established as Time Warne ...
while appearing on Canada's Business News Network, saying "I don't see this as a major antitrust problem."


Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Division


Nomination

In March 2017, Trump announced his nomination of Delrahim as Assistant Attorney General for the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division. This role, which required U.S. Senate confirmation, entails overseeing criminal cartel enforcement as well as corporate
mergers and acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...
. In September 2017, he was approved 73–21 by the U.S. Senate. When he arrived on the job, he was reportedly gifted a hat with "Makan Antitrust Great Again" (a play on Delrahim's first name and " Make America Great Again") written on it by DOJ staff.


Tenure and positions on antitrust

When interviewed, Delrahim emphasized that under U.S. law, a
monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...
is legal as long as it does not abuse its monopoly power. Delrahim has given speeches arguing that behavioral remedies in
consent decree A consent decree is an agreement or settlement that resolves a dispute between two parties without admission of guilt (in a criminal case) or liability (in a civil case). Most often it is such a type of settlement in the United States. The ...
s to remedy an otherwise illegal merger are ineffective and that antitrust enforcers should instead employ structural remedies such as
divestment In finance and economics, divestment or divestiture is the reduction of some kind of asset for financial, ethical, or political objectives or sale of an existing business by a firm. A divestment is the opposite of an investment. Divestiture is a ...
. During his tenure, Delrahim took some anti-monopoly stances on certain antitrust issues while taking less aggressive stances on others, with ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' stating that he "sometimes bucked expectations." Delrahim was reportedly considered for the position of
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
after the resignation of Jeff Sessions, though he was ultimately not chosen for the role. On November 20, 2017, Delrahim filed a lawsuit under Section 7 of the
Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 (, codified at , ), is a part of United States antitrust law with the goal of adding further substance to the U.S. antitrust law regime; the Clayton Act seeks to prevent anticompetitive practices in their incip ...
to block
AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...
's $85.4 billion acquisition of
Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City. It was established as Time Warne ...
. On June 12, 2018, U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon rejected the government's claims and refused to block the merger. The Department of Justice has since appealed this outcome. On May 29, 2018, Delrahim approved
Bayer Bayer AG (English: , commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies and biomedical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer' ...
's $66 billion acquisition of Monsanto. Delrahim recused himself from Department of Justice antitrust scrutiny of Google owing to his past consulting work for the company. In September 2018, Delrahim fired a DOJ paralegal after she participated in a protest against Secretary of Homeland Security
Kirstjen Nielsen Kirstjen Michele Nielsen (; born May 14, 1972) is an American attorney who served as United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019. She is a former White House Deputy Chief of Staff, principal White House deputy chief of staff ...
. An internal DOJ investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing on behalf of the paralegal, but Delrahim dismissed the conclusion of the investigation and fired her. In 2020, Delrahim undertook a reorganization of the DOJ's antitrust division.


Post-government tenure

In 2021, Delrahim signed onto a letter alongside eight other former Assistant Attorneys General for the Antitrust Division in support of Jonathan Kanter,
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
's nominee for the position.


Political activity

In March 2016, Delrahim published an
op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...
in the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'' arguing that due to the importance of future U.S. Supreme Court nominations, Republicans should support
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
over
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
. After Trump's victory in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Delrahim was active in Trump's presidential transition. After the inauguration of Donald Trump, Delrahim became Deputy White House Counsel and assisted in shepherding
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
nominee
Neil Gorsuch Neil McGill Gorsuch ( ; born August 29, 1967) is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was Neil Gorsuch Supreme Court ...
through the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
confirmation process.


References


External links


DOJ profile
*
Inside the Trump White House: Iranian-American Makan Delrahim is Deputy Counsel to the President
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delrahim, Makan 1969 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers American lobbyists American people of Iranian-Jewish descent California lawyers California Republicans George W. Bush administration personnel George Washington University Law School alumni Iranian emigrants to the United States Iranian Jews American lawyers Jewish American government officials Johns Hopkins University alumni People from Tehran Pepperdine University faculty First Trump administration personnel United States assistant attorneys general for the Antitrust Division University of California, Los Angeles alumni United States Senate lawyers Naturalized citizens of the United States