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December 22, 2021 | Revolving Door Project Newsletter
New Year’s Resolutions for Official Washington
The jury’s still out on whether Build Back Better is really, truly dead. Some think that there’s still a deal to be made after Senator Joe Manchin unceremoniously blew up negotiations over the weekend. Others argue that, if Manchin isn’t satisfied with a bill that has already been thoroughly hacked and chiseled to conform to his demands, he won’t accept anything. But whichever camp you fall in, it’s clear that the landmark legislation is unlikely to remain the only topic in town next year. (Indeed, as important as the needs requiring BBB are, the executive branch is always also critical). As our political leaders prepare for the post-Build Back Better world, we ask that they consider making the following resolutions for the New Year.
December 21, 2021 | The Hill
Is The Media Laundering Open Lawlessness At The FDIC?
McWilliams and Chopra both make compelling characters, but only one is quite clearly violating the law, and attempting to seize absolute power over a crucial agency with no repercussions.
December 17, 2021
Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice Is Perpetuating Climate Destruction
When the government’s lawyers defend fossil fuel interests, people and the planet pay the price.
December 16, 2021
Watchdog Requests Secretary of Commerce Raimondo Release Records of Meetings with Big Business
Now more than ever, with rumors swirling that Raimondo is considering a bid for the White House in 2024, it is critical to see exactly which corporations and lobbyists Raimondo has met with in recent months.
December 15, 2021 | Revolving Door Project Newsletter
Biden’s Bank Regulators Play Hardball
Late last Thursday, a Democratic majority on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) board announced that it had voted to take comment on the agency’s process for reviewing bank mergers, a policy that fits neatly within the Biden administration’s whole-of-government approach to competition. On its face, this is wholly unremarkable. But what should have been just another early step towards meeting this administration’s goals quickly turned into an all out war thanks to the FDIC’s Trump holdover chair Jelena McWilliams.
December 14, 2021
Biden Gets Why Meat Prices Are So High. Why Isn't He Going On Offense About It?
Being correct, it turns out, isn’t enough. A dry blog post full of economic statistics and analysis simply isn’t how best to message the President’s position to the public.
December 14, 2021
FDIC Chair Uses Circular Logic And Revolving Doors To Retain Unlawful Power
If the FDIC general counsel is loyal primarily to McWilliams, then his opinion can’t be taken as independent in this matter.
December 13, 2021 | The American Prospect
The Trump Officials Still Running Biden’s Justice Department
We are rapidly approaching the one-year anniversary of January 6, and Attorney General Merrick Garland has yet to give any sign that his Justice Department is independently investigating former President Trump and his fellow instigators. This is, by far, Garland’s most high-profile failure when it comes to accountability for the prior administration, one that more observers have begun to notice. But it is not the only one.
December 10, 2021
Beyond HUD And FHFA: The Federal Government's Other Housing Agencies
Many executive branch departments and agencies — including FEMA, USDA, and the VA — administer lesser-known federal housing programs.
December 10, 2021
The "Coup" At The FDIC Is Jelena McWilliams Overturning Majority And Congressional Will
McWilliams is effectively saying that any outcome which she doesn’t like must be illegitimate, because she’s the Chair.
December 09, 2021
Big Business Taps Trump's Lead Union-Buster To Attack Workers' Rights
Miscimarra will lead the Chamber and IFA’s defense of a rule that undermines the abilities of both workers with multiple jobs and subcontracted workers to form unions.
December 08, 2021 | Talking Points Memo
Op-Ed 2020 Election/TransitionCriminal JusticeDepartment of JusticeEthics in GovernmentExecutive Branch
The Bureau Of Prisons Needs New Leadership, Now
Progressives, prison workers and prisoners are in agreement: the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Michael Carvajal, should be fired. The Bureau of Prisons is in a crisis several layers deep, and new leadership will be key to its reformation.
December 08, 2021 | Revolving Door Project Newsletter
To Get A Promotion, Would-Be Candidates Should Consider Doing Their Jobs
Biden hasn’t even reached the end of his first year in office and already eyes are turning to the likely contest between Vice President Kamala Harris and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination (provided, of course, that Biden steps aside). Prospective voters are being inundated with stories of palace intrigue, invaluable information about the would-be candidates’ preferences (Harris doesn’t like to use Bluetooth, Buttigieg loves electric bikes), and speeches and media appearances in which the Vice President and Secretary boost Build Back Better (despite neither having a substantive role in its passage). Notably missing from this deluge, however, is much discussion of how well either one is performing the job they currently hold. That seems to us among the most relevant considerations as prospective voters mull giving either a promotion.
December 07, 2021
Watchdog Requests Correspondence Concerning Senior DOJ Officials’ Recusals
Today, the Revolving Door Project issued Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for records reflecting any ethics advice given to any Senate-confirmed Department of Justice (DOJ) officials. The Project also requested any ethics advice given to Chief of Staff to the Deputy Attorney General Anita Singh, whose husband is a member of Google’s antitrust defense team at law firm Vinson & Elkins. The Project is interested in which potential conflicts of interest do or don’t trigger ethics concerns within the Department, particularly as Big Tech companies engage in a cynical and specious campaign to use ethics rules to tie the hands of antitrust enforcers.
