A federal judge in Texas has halted a recently established rule requiring companies to disclose additional information when seeking merger reviews, stating that it overstepped the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) authority. The rule, finalized in 2024, aimed to provide antitrust regulators at the FTC and the U.S. Department of Justice with enhanced insights into mergers and acquisitions. Some companies rushed to secure approvals prior to the rule’s implementation in February to avoid its obligations. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit against the rule last year. U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle, appointed by former President Donald Trump, indicated that the FTC failed to sufficiently demonstrate that the rule’s advantages would outweigh its costs, remarking, „While the FTC argues that the rule will help identify illegal mergers and conserve agency resources, it lacks evidence to support these claims.“ Although the rule was finalized during the final days of the Biden administration, Andrew Ferguson, now the current FTC Chairman but then a commissioner, supported it as a „lawful improvement over the status quo.“ An FTC spokesperson mentioned, „We are evaluating the ruling and considering our options,“ while labeling the Chamber of Commerce as an activist group with leftist and open-borders inclinations. The Chamber, the largest business lobbying organization in the U.S., boasts board members from major companies including FedEx, Sempra, and Meta Platforms. Daryl Joseffer, executive vice president of the Chamber’s litigation center, expressed satisfaction with the court’s ruling, referring to it as a rejection of what he termed the Biden administration’s burdensome merger tax. The Chamber did not comment on the FTC’s characterization of the organization.