Fiction
Paramount hires ex-Trump lawyer Rene Augustine as VP of public policy amid Warner bid
Rene Augustine joins amid takeover fight for Warner Bros
CALIFORNIA: Paramount Skydance has hired former Trump administration lawyer Rene Augustine as senior vice president for global public policy, placing a seasoned Washington hand at the wheel as the company pursues a high-stakes takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Augustine will join on February 17 and report to chief legal officer Makan Delrahim, another veteran of the US Justice Department’s antitrust ranks. Her brief is straightforward but weighty: shape policy strategy, handle regulatory hurdles and build diplomatic ties that help Paramount’s global ambitions.
In a memo to staff announcing her appointment, Delrahim said Augustine would be responsible for developing strategic policies “that advance our business objectives and building key diplomatic relationships that are important for advancing those objectives globally”.
The timing is no accident. Paramount Skydance is locked in a heated bidding contest for Warner Bros. Discovery, with Netflix also circling the storied studio. In that context, a policy chief who knows the corridors of power could prove as valuable as any box-office hit.
Augustine served from 2019 to 2021 as deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, where she oversaw international competition policy. She worked directly under Delrahim during that period, making this reunion less a fresh pairing and more a sequel.
Her career spans both Republican administrations of the past two decades. She held senior legal roles in the Trump White House, including special assistant to the president and senior associate counsel, and earlier served as associate counsel to President George W. Bush. She has also worked on Capitol Hill as senior counsel to the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Within Paramount Skydance, she will be based in Washington, DC, and work closely with teams across Los Angeles, New York and other international offices. The role involves shaping policies that support the company’s business goals while navigating the regulatory maze that comes with large media deals.
Her appointment follows the recent hiring of veteran lobbyist Ted Lehman as senior vice president and head of US public policy and government affairs, signalling that Paramount is building a deeper bench in Washington as the Warner Bros battle intensifies.
With regulators, rival bidders and global markets all in play, Paramount appears to be arming itself with a policy team that knows the script. In a deal where the legal fine print may matter as much as the creative slate, Augustine’s arrival suggests the studio wants its Washington dialogue delivered with professional polish.
