Our Blog

April 29, 2021 | The New Republic
Trump Holdovers Are Dragging Down the Biden Agenda
During his campaign, Joe Biden repeatedly held out the promise of an FDR-size presidency—the better to counter the misrule of the Trump administration. It can be said that he has already made some admirable strides in that direction with the passage of the American Rescue Plan. As Biden reaches his 100th day in office, however, he may soon find that comparisons to his self-identified North Star don’t quite measure up. Roosevelt, after all, famously signed 15 major bills into law during his first 100 days, compared to Biden’s one (which isn’t to diminish the size or importance of that single accomplishment). Biden and his allies can, of course, point to considerable obstacles that Roosevelt didn’t need to surmount, such as the Democratic Party’s slimmer margins and the fact that the president does not literally control Congress.

April 29, 2021 | Talking Points Memo
The Rules Dems Could Change To Keep The Tom Cottons Of The Senate From Delaying Biden Noms’ Confirmations
Forty. That’s how many of Joe Biden’s nominees the Senate will have likely confirmed when his presidency crosses the 100-day mark this Friday. On average, it took these nominees 49 days to move from nomination to confirmation. With over 1,100 seats throughout the executive branch left to fill (not to mention hundreds more in the Judiciary), that glacial pace should worry you. Unfortunately, it can get even slower. And thanks to Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), it looks like it’s about to.

April 28, 2021
Second Report in BigLaw Revolving Door Series Examines Right-Wing And Corporate Ties At Jones Day
Today the Revolving Door Project (RDP) and People’s Parity Project (PPP) released the second report in their the BigLaw Revolving Door series, examining Jones Day’s government ties and corporate clients. The BigLaw Revolving Door series investigates the outsized influence of corporate law firms and their clients on the executive branch and regulatory law spaces.

April 28, 2021
Revolver Spotlight: Alex Oh
Last week, SEC Commissioner Gary Gensler named corporate BigLaw partner Alex Oh as Director of Enforcement of the SEC. Oh’s nomination, especially in an agency tasked with holding Big Banks accountable, is deeply concerning given her history working for some of the worst corporate influences. Oh, who has served as a partner at the BigLaw firm Paul Weiss since 2004, has taken on clients with direct conflicts of interest including Big Banks, fossil fuel companies, and Big Pharma.

April 28, 2021
SEC's New Enforcement Director, Alex Oh, Is Bad News For Climate
Progressives and climate activists were initially heartened by the prospect of Gary Gensler at the helm of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the regulatory powerhouse responsible for regulating coordinating stock trading. And some of Gensler’s initial staffing decisions also inspired plaudits. However, we were shocked when SEC Chairman Gensler announced last week he would appoint veteran Wall Street defense lawyer Alex Oh to lead the SEC’s powerful enforcement division. This appointment is an absolute rejection of progressive values, not to mention climate reality.

April 28, 2021 | The American Prospect
Biden Needs to Fire the FBI Director
Trump-appointed FBI director Chris Wray cannot be trusted to handle the continued surge in white supremacist violence and terror.

April 27, 2021
Questions for Joe Biden and Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice
Amid a transition season of bruising battles between progressives and the old guard over Biden’s Cabinet picks, Merrick Garland for Attorney General was one choice that sparked relatively little controversy. Three months into Biden’s presidency, however, Garland is quickly shaping up to be the most consequentially bad Cabinet pick. On any number of important metrics — sweeping out holdovers from the Trump administration and reversing its positions, preventing corporate capture, and acting aggressively to advance the public interest — Garland is failing.

April 27, 2021
The Longer Trump’s Acting Comptroller Stays, The More Damage He’ll Do
Under Otting and Brooks’ leadership, the OCC rolled out rules contrary to its responsibility to maintain a federal banking system that is safe against systemic risks and provides aid to all customers. Now they’re all out of power — but Acting Comptroller, Blake Paulson, whose ascent was ensured by Brooks and Mnuchin, has demonstrated no desire to change course from the path set by Trump’s lackeys. That is why Biden needs to act quickly and appoint a Comptroller who recognizes the dangerous precedent set by the Trump administration.

April 23, 2021 | The American Prospect
Place Human Lives Over Pharma’s Property Rights
The Biden administration is divided over whether to waive trade protections for Big Pharma—with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo as a key industry ally.

April 22, 2021
Merrick Garland: A Potential Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing for Criminal Justice Advocates
Last May, as the country first erupted into protests over George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, Biden promised that he would deliver “real police reform” if elected president. The country’s eyes are on Minnesota again this week after a police officer in a Minneapolis suburb shot and killed Daunte Wright, sparking a new wave of protests. This time, Biden need no longer speak in hypotheticals; he is President. Will his administration deliver?

April 22, 2021
Delaware Connections Run Deep As DuPont Family's Darla Pomeroy Heads To Treasury
Darla Pomeroy, who is married to an heir to the DuPont family fortune, was just named Senior Advisor to the Office of Domestic Finance at the US Treasury. While her record does not show any familiarity with financial regulatory policy, it reveals instead a history of a powerful corporation highly influential in Delaware placing a close ally in the administration.

April 22, 2021
Wall Street Lawyer Leading Wall Street Oversight Unsettles Allies Of Gensler
“Oh has chosen to spend over 20 years reinforcing a corrupt status quo in corporate America, in which the largest companies systematically evade democratic accountability. No one so comfortable with the breakdown in the rule of law over corporate America should be entrusted with responsibility for implementing long-overdue accountability on Wall Street.”

April 22, 2021
Watchdog Calls For Investigation Into White House's Delay On Covid-19 Workplace Safety Standards
Watchdog calls for an investigation into potential corporate influence behind the White House’s continued delay on Covid-19 workplace safety standards

April 21, 2021
Education Department Must Rein In For-Profit College Industry Mergers And Reclassifications
The Education Department controls almost every aspect of regulating for-profits, from certifying the accrediting agencies to the enforcement of student protections like the gainful employment rule and the borrower defense rule.

April 21, 2021
Watchdog Grades Biden A "B-" On Preventing Corporate Capture Of Executive Branch
“Although the bar is low, Biden has proven to be the least captured and most public-oriented President of any of our lifetimes,” the Revolving Door Project wrote. “That said, Biden’s administration thus far is certainly not spotless.”