Consumer products manufactured by Kimberly-Clark. (Photo Illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Over the last few years Washington tried to micromanage the economy—and the results speak for themselves. When regulators second-guess business decisions, slow-walk mergers and erect new barriers to growth, innovation doesn’t just stall; it starts to reverse.
That’s exactly what happened under the Biden administration’s increasingly aggressive approach to corporate mergers. Instead of viewing M&A as a time-tested way for companies to scale up, cut costs and compete globally, regulators assumed the worst—and acted accordingly. The collateral damage is now playing out in real time.
Look at Spirit Airlines. The company needed a lifeline and found one in JetBlue. The merger would have challenged the industry’s giants, spurred competition and offered consumers more choices. Instead, Washington slammed on the brakes. The deal collapsed, and Spirit is now in bankruptcy—shedding routes, jobs and market share. Travelers lose. Workers lose. Competition loses.
Or consider iRobot, the homegrown innovator behind the Roomba. Amazon’s acquisition would have provided stability and investment. Instead, regulators threatened litigation, the deal died and iRobot is now cutting a third of its workforce. Another American tech company weakened—not by the marketplace, but by regulatory overreach.
But here’s the good news: The pendulum can swing back quickly if policy allows it. President Trump has long understood something fundamental: Growth comes from empowering businesses, not by holding them hostage to ever-changing rules. When companies are free to adapt and innovate, the economy expands, jobs multiply and consumers win.
That mindset is already shaping a new wave of smart, pro-growth mergers. Kimberly-Clark’s $48.7 billion acquisition of Kenvue is a perfect example [disclosure: a couple of my grandkids own a handful of shares in Kimberly-Clark]. This isn’t consolidation for consolidation’s sake; it’s an opportunity to combine complementary strengths—Kleenex, Huggies and Cottonelle with Listerine, Tylenol and Band-Aid. There’s virtually no overlap, no threat to competition. Just a stronger U.S. competitor on the world stage.
Even better, the deal reinforces another positive pillar of growth: domestic manufacturing. Kimberly-Clark already produces most of its goods here and has committed another $2 billion to expand U.S. operations. Absorbing Kenvue’s brands amplifies that investment, supporting more jobs and more American production.
The contrast is unmistakable. One regulatory approach slows growth, weakens companies and shrinks opportunity. The other encourages innovation, investment and economic confidence.
If Washington embraces a more market-oriented philosophy—one that trusts businesses to make decisions and focuses on outcomes rather than ideology—the results will be unmistakable: more innovation, more competitiveness and more prosperity.
The U.S. economy is ready to surge. The question is simple: Will Washington let it?