‘Seismic shift.’ Kroger’s fight against a federal agency could upend antitrust | CNN Business

A shopper pushes a shopping cart outside a Kroger grocery store in Dallas, Texas, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. New York CNN — Supermarket chain Kroger is suing a federal agency in a daring move that aims to weaken how Washington fights mergers that threaten to jack up prices on consumers. The lawsuit alleges the Federal Trade Commission is violating the US Constitution by using an in-house tribunal to challenge Kroger’s $25 billion mega-merger with Albertsons — the biggest proposed supermarket deal in American history. The FTC typically enforces antitrust in one of two ways: It can sue companies and take them to directly to court, or it can attempt to use its own in-house administrative law judges to issue a ruling or reach a settlement outside of court. In the case of Kroger, the FTC actually pursued both options, seeking to block the merger in court and make a ruling on it with its in-house administrators. Companies can challenge the FTC’s administrative decisions in court. But K...