Biden administration weighs executive order restraining big companies

Action would go beyond traditional antitrust enforcement and would likely face legal challenges

The Biden administration is developing an executive order directing agencies to strengthen oversight of industries that they perceive to be dominated by a small number of companies, a wide-ranging attempt to rein in big business power across the economy, people familiar with the plans told The Wall Street Journal.

According to the news report, the order, which US President Biden could sign as soon as next week, would direct regulators of industries from airlines to agriculture to rethink their rule-making process to inject more competition and to give consumers, workers and suppliers more rights to challenge large producers.

The order goes after