AT&T-Time Warner Deal: Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump And Hillary Clinton Want Administration To 'Kill' $85 Billion Deal

Bernie Sanders does not support AT&T’s latest acquisition of Time Warner. AT&T announced their $85 billion purchase of the third largest cable provider in the United States on Sunday and since news of their deal broke many politicians and government officials have been speaking out against the merger, including Sanders and both presidential candidates.

AT&T’s purchase of Time Warner’s portfolio would give the network's 130 million mobile phone customers and 25 million pay-TV clients access to Time Warner services, which includes content from Warner Brothers film studios, the Cartoon Network, CNN, HBO and others. AT&T’s chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson said in a statement that the merger would give customers “unmatched choice, quality, value and experiences that will define the future of media and communications.” However, several U.S. lawmakers and senators have warned that the hefty deal would limit consumer’s options while hiking up prices.

The concern over the deal has reportedly led to a Senate subcommittee hearing in November, which would give officials the chance to evaluate the merger.

Neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump seems to be in favor of the merger. Although a spokesman for Clinton told reporters on Sunday that “there’s still a lot of information that needs to come out before any conclusions should be reached,” he said that Clinton has “a number of questions and concerns” about the merger and that "she thinks regulators should scrutinize it closely."

Should Trump take the White House following the Nov. 8 election, the businessman said during a speech on Saturday that he would block the deal completely because it was “too much concentration of power in the hands of two few.”

Sanders seemed to agree with Trump’s sentiments, and the Vermont senator proposed that the administration should “kill” the deal completely. However, only the Justice Department is legally capable of approving, blocking or putting specific conditions on the AT&T and Time Warner merger.