The Justice Department updated its merger review policy on October 29, 2026, stating it will defer to state attorneys general for local transactions while retaining discretion for issues of national significance.

Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward, Jr. said principles of federalism guide that the Justice Department use its resources to investigate mergers with regional or national implications. "However, the Department will sometimes exercise its discretion to investigate local transactions, including when there is an antitrust issue of national significance," he said.

"When it comes to mergers of national importance, the Department will generally form its own views of the appropriate resolution of an investigation, although it may partner with state enforcers who offer to contribute distinctively to the investigation," he said.

"In our federal system, federal and state law enforcers have different constituencies and distinct competencies," Beller said. He said "a constructive relationship between antitrust enforcers at both levels includes deferring to the agency of relative competence in matters that impact distinctly federal or local interests." "The Antitrust Division welcomes leadership from state enforcers in transactions that implicate uniquely local interests, such as when the state is a purchaser that could suffer direct injury or when potential effects on competition are limited to a single state," Beller said.

Since January 2026, the Antitrust Division partnered with the Attorneys General of California and Tennessee to enter into consent decrees with merging parties in cement and asphalt industries. The division also referred investigations involving asphalt markets in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey to those states’ Attorneys General, who subsequently reached settlements with the parties.

In October 2026, the New York and Pennsylvania Attorneys General reached settlements with Colas Inc. and Suit-Kote Corp., requiring the divestiture of four facilities in New York and Pennsylvania to address competition concerns. The Antitrust Division has jointly investigated both local and multistate mergers with state Attorneys General when those mergers present issues justifying both federal and state involvement, and consulted and worked closely with state Attorneys General in other merger investigations involving local matters. Primary source: justice.gov