The U.S. Justice Department’s successful challenge to the merger of two major book publishers provided a burst of momentum for the Biden administration’s progressive antitrust approach following a string of early defeats.

U.S. District Judge Florence Pan of the District of Columbia on Monday blocked Penguin Random House’s proposed acquisition of Simon & Schuster, handing a win to the Justice Department, which argued that the deal would harm competition for books viewed as potential bestsellers and lower advance payments to authors who write them.