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About the Revolving Door Project
The Revolving Door Project (RDP), a project of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), scrutinizes executive branch appointees to ensure they use their office to serve the broad public interest, rather than to entrench corporate power or seek personal advancement.
Projects
The Agency Spotlight
The Agency Spotlight tracks appointments to leadership positions at thirty-nine independent federal agencies through the confirmation process and beyond. Additionally, for three agencies — the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — the Spotlight monitors and exhibits key votes.
Read MorePresidential Power Map
The Presidential Power Map classifies bundlers and major donors by their professional and sectoral affiliations to offer the most possible clues about the composition of a presidential candidate’s hypothetical administration.
Learn moreOctober 20, 2020
Opposing Trump’s Proto-Fascism Doesn’t Merit a Cabinet Spot
Obama famously assembled a “Team of Rivals” when he swept into office in 2008. His cabinet consolidated the ideological flanks of his party while extending an olive branch to Republicans by leaving Bush-appointee Bob Gates in office at the Department of Defense.
The 2010 Republican sweep of Congress quickly incinerated that olive branch.
October 14, 2020
How Biden's Treasury Department Could Fight Climate Change
The fossil fuel industry depends on financial institutions to survive. And banks, for their part, pull in big profits from underwriting climate disaster. That’s why, if Joe Biden wins in November, his pick for Treasury Secretary must be an aggressive advocate for climate action. The Treasury Department has untapped capacity to push financial institutions and insurance companies to take the risks of the climate crisis seriously. While his legislative proposals elicit proper close scrutiny, his choice of Treasury Secretary is arguably among Biden’s most important climate policy decisions.
October 14, 2020 | American Prospect
Prop 22 Is A Dress Rehearsal For This Biden Cabinet Hopeful's Confirmation Battle
Uber and Lyft didn’t come up with the idea of dodging labor law by creating their own category of worker. But one of the men who did stands a good chance of being nominated as the next secretary of labor.
October 07, 2020 | The American Prospect
The Biden Transition’s Ethics Pledge Is a Paper Tiger
For all of his failures—at business, governing, and even just sitting still and receiving proper medical care for a deadly virus—the American public can always count on Donald Trump to put on a show. For four years, he has gripped the country’s attention with an unending stream of scandals. If current polling trends are any guide, however, the curtain may soon be closing. Without all the distraction, we’ll be left squarely facing a key question: How do we fix what Trump revealed to be broken?
October 21, 2020
Alexandra Jaffe - Associated Press
'So Much Work To Do': How Biden Is Planning For Transition
October 20, 2020
Megan Cassella and Alice Miranda Olstein - Politico
Biden Eyes GOP Candidates For Cabinet Slots
October 20, 2020
Jennifer Epstein and Tyler Pager - Bloomberg
Biden Looking To Longtime Aide Ron Klain As Chief Of Staff
October 19, 2020
Hans Nichols - Axios
Axios Sneak Peak, October 18
October 16, 2020
Kara Voght - Mother Jones
The Next Fight Over The Soul Of The Democratic Party? Biden's Chief Of Staff.
October 13, 2020
Julie Bykowicz and Ted Mann - Wall Street Journal
Joe Biden Keeps Everyone Guessing On Wall Street Regulation
RDP on Twitter
“The potential honeymoon for a Biden administration with progressives will be very short, if he is making impactful decisions that seem to augur four years of moderation in the face of things believed to be serious, a serious crisis,” said @jeffhauser. https://t.co/Tm38jppZe9
RT @Econ_Marshall: The biggest question in (federal) policy for a Biden administration: does this include economists who've taken consultin…
Read RDP fellow Elias Alsbergas on why this is a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad idea. https://t.co/GyNVRCcs8t https://t.co/BhPSXZIZjN
And as our @jeffhauser tweeted this morning, a future Biden administration should disavow such revolvers: (7/7) https://t.co/ImjSoePy2T
In Washington, this is business as usual. But for the individuals and businesses squashed by the Big Tech’s power, and the enforcers whose job it's been to protect the vulnerable, the constant revolving door between government and the tech tyrants should be a scandal. (6/7)
And the revolving door swings both ways—in defending itself from the DOJ’s investigation, Google will undoubtedly rely on turncoat law enforcers. Big Tech regularly hires former officials to shepherd their mergers through government investigations. (5/7) https://t.co/v3sUxSAd53
As we wrote in @TPM, instead of seasoned public advocates, @JusticeATR is relying on Alex Okuliar and Ryan Shore, BigLaw lawyers w/ extensive corporate advocacy experience who only recently joined the DOJ: (4/7) https://t.co/v3sUxSAd53
Sidenote: Delrahim helped usher in Google’s acquisition of Doubleclick while at BigLaw firm @BrownsteinHyatt. That’s the same monumental case former antitrust officials are now saying they would have challenged as anticompetitive… in retrospect. (3/7) https://t.co/38sIQXz29a
But who is actually calling the shots? Not AAG Delrahim—the Antitrust chief recused himself because Google was once his client. Instead, @Kirkland_Ellis revolver Jeffrey Rosen and an unknown BigLaw aide are directing the case under AG William Barr: (2/7) https://t.co/PH9sfpj7FO https://t.co/ugIltrSycQ