Washington does not need to cut a check to move money on Wall Street. It just needs to change who is sitting in the antitrust chair.
The current administration has signaled a materially softer merger review posture at both the DOJ Antitrust Division and the FTC. The prior enforcement era was defined by an aggressive "block first, litigate later" doctrine that froze strategic acquirers in place — boards were unwilling to announce deals they expected regulators to fight for two years. The result was a historic backlog. Private equity shops sat on dry powder. Corporate development teams warehoused signed term sheets. Bankers billed pitchbooks that never became mandates.