Attorney General Robert Kennedy took the position that steel executives had illegally colluded to fix prices. He stated, "We're going for broke. [...] their expense accounts, where they've been and what they've been doing. [...] the FBI is to interview them all. [...] we can't lose this." The administration's actions influenced U.S. Steel to rescind the price increase. "The Wall Street Journal" wrote that the administration had acted "by naked power, by threats, by agents of the state security police". Yale law professor Charles Reich opined in "The New Republic" that the administration had violated civil liberties by calling a grand jury to indict U.S. Steel for collusion so quickly. An editorial in "The New York Times" praised Kennedy's actions and said that the steel industry's price increase "imperil[ed the economic welfare of the country by inviting a tidal wave of inflation". Nevertheless, the administration's Bureau of Budget reported the price increase would have caused a net gain for the GDP as well as a net budget surplus. The stock market, which had steadily declined since Kennedy's election in 1960, dropped 10% shortly after the administration's action on the steel industry took place.