Dec 7, 2017

Trial date set for Justice Department's case against AT&T merger

Mark Lennihan / AP

The Justice Department’s case against the $85 billion AT&T-Time Warner will go to trial on March 19. The judge in the case made the decision at a hearing on Thursday attended by top Justice Department antitrust official Makan Delrahim.

The judge also said that he wouldn't rule in the case before the current April 22 deadline for the deal to close. "We understand and appreciate how busy the Court is, and we will promptly discuss the Court’s post-trial schedule with Time Warner," said AT&T General Counsel David McAtee in a statement, adding the company is "committed to this transaction."

Splitting the difference: AT&T wanted the trial to start in February, while the government wanted a May start date.

Go deeper: Bloomberg has a look at the players in this courtroom drama.

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Alayna Treene, Sam Baker
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Amy Coney Barrett's immediate impact

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

In her first week on the job, Amy Coney Barrett may be deciding which votes to count in the presidential election. By her third week, she’ll be deciding the fate of the Affordable Care Act.

Where it stands: The Senate votes on Barrett’s nomination tomorrow. If she’s confirmed, Chief Justice John Roberts is expected to swear her in at the Supreme Court within hours, an administration official tells Axios.

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Alexi McCammond, Hans Nichols
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Texas Democrats beg Biden to spend now

Photo: Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

The Biden campaign is rebuffing persistent pleas from Texas Democrats to spend at least $10 million in the Lone Star state, several people familiar with the talks tell Axios.

Why it matters: If Texas — which has 38 electoral votes and is steadily getting more blue, but hasn't backed a Democrat for president since 1976 — flipped to the Biden column, it would be game over. But the RealClearPolitics polling average stubbornly hovers at +2.6 for Trump — and Team Biden appears more focused on closer targets.

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Alayna Treene, author of Sneak Peek
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Election night in Trumpworld

Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Chris Carlson-Pool/Getty Images

A luxe election-night watch party at the Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue is being planned for President Trump's donors, friends and advisers — but Trump's hand in it is minimal because he's "very superstitious" — people familiar with the plans tell Axios.

The big picture: This "mecca for all things MAGA," as one adviser described it, is one of three hubs where they say Trumpworld will watch returns. The others are the war room at campaign HQ in Rosslyn, Virginia, and the White House residence, where Trump and the first lady will gather close family and advisers before heading to the hotel later that night, the sources said.

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