Varney confirmed by Senate

On monday night, the Senate confirmed Christine Varney as the assistant attorney general for antitrust. She's got a lot on her plate at the Justice Department already: The Live Nation-Ticketmaster Entertainment merger is under review, and Monday's announcement that Oracle, which successfully fought the antitrust division's litigation staff over a merger, announced plans to acquire Sun Microsystems. Varney, who was most recently a partner at Hogan & Hartson LLP in Washington, also served the Clinton administration in a number of roles, culminating in a stint as a member of the Federal Trade Commission. Gene Kimmelman, a vice president at Consumers Union, will become Varney's chief counsel for competition policy and intergovernmental relations.