Gail Slater, a native of Dalkey in Dublin, is US President-elect Donald Trump's choice to become the next Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division at the US Department of Justice.
Trump, who beat Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in the US Presidential election on November 5, announced Slater as his pick in a statement on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, December 4.
"I am pleased to nominate Gail Slater as Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division at the Department of Justice," Trump said in the post.
"Big Tech has run wild for years, stifling competition in our most innovative sector and, as we all know, using its market power to crack down on the rights of so many Americans, as well as those of Little Tech!
"I was proud to fight these abuses in my First Term, and our Department of Justice's antitrust team will continue that work under Gail's leadership.
"Gail previously served at the FTC, in my National Economic Council and, most recently, advising Vice President-Elect JD Vance in his Senate office.
"Gail has also worked in the private sector, in Media at FOX, and in the Tech sector at Roku.
"In her new role, Gail will help ensure that our competition laws are enforced, both vigorously and FAIRLY, with clear rules that facilitate, rather than stifle, the ingenuity of our greatest companies.
"Congratulations Gail - Together, we will Make America Competitive Again!"
Slater will be need to confirmed by the US Senate to officially take up the role.
Who is Gail Slater?
Abigail 'Gail' Slater, nee Conlon, graduated from the Loreto Abbey in Dublin in 1989 and continued her education at University College Dublin and Oxford University.
The Irish woman began her career in London with the law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, which often sent her on trips to the US where she eventually met her now-husband Lindsay Slater. The Irish woman made the move to the US in 2003 and she and Lindsay got married in Dublin in 2004. She now holds dual Irish - US citizenship.
After moving to the US, Slater took up a role with the Federal Trade Commission, where she worked through August 2014.
In September 2014, Slater began her role as general counsel at the Internet Association.
Slater made her White House debut in February 2018 when she became the Special Assistant to The President for Technology, Telecommunications & Cyber Security Policy. She is believed to have been the only Irish-born member of staff in the first Trump White House.
During her tenure in the White House, Slater received the Leadership in Government Award at The Ireland Funds National Gala in Washington, DC in March 2019.
Accepting her award, she expressed her gratitude to Irish Americans: "When I was growing up in Ireland, the Irish Americans seemed always to be there for us from afar. To us, you were a cross between a big brother and a guardian angel."
In April 2019, Slater exited the White House to take up the role of Senior Vice President For Policy and Strategy at Fox Corporation.
In February 2022, Slater was named Vice President at Roku Inc. Two years later, she was selected to be an economic policy advisor for Senator JD Vance, who is now the Vice President-elect.
The Business Post reported in 2019 that Slater had previously said of Trump: “I’ve always appreciated how decisive he is.
"Like any chief executive, you want someone who will make a decision, [and] he will make a decision.
“The other thing I really appreciate – and this is something I don’t think everyone else gets— is that he wants to know what everyone in the room thinks.”
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