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November 23, 2020
What A Bold Treasury Secretary Could Do
President-Elect Joe Biden’s choice to name Janet Yellen as his Treasury Secretary represents a tremendous opportunity to take executive action on the issues most pressing to all Americans. Here are just some meaningful actions the next Treasury Secretary could take without having to go through Congress.
November 18, 2020 | The Guardian
Biden's Cabinet Could Do A Lot — If He Resists The Urge To Fill It With 'Consensus' Picks
For corporate America, divided government is a blessing. A dysfunctional legislature will struggle to pass laws raising corporate taxes or cracking down on corporate malfeasance. But just as importantly, by pushing the narrative that no progressives could ever get anything through a Republican-controlled Senate, corporate executives can position themselves as bipartisan “consensus” picks for powerful cabinet posts and regulatory jobs.
November 06, 2020 | American Prospect
We Don't Have To Live In Mitch McConnell's World
It’s important to recognize that the idea of hopelessness around a Biden Cabinet is nonsense. Biden has several tools available to him to circumvent McConnell’s Senate and still appoint the Cabinet secretaries he needs. And to have any hope of Democratic victory in 2022 and 2024, Biden must not only build a functional, Rooseveltian government, but he must take public credit for it—and publicly jeer those who would stand in his way.
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?
September 30, 2020 | American Prospect
The Debate We Had Vs. The Debate We Needed
Tuesday’s debate, sadly, was much more about Trump’s performative unruliness than any insight into either candidate’s plan (or lack thereof) for running the executive branch. While he had some decent moments amidst Trump’s freak show act, this was a particular disappointment for Joe Biden. The best, potentially landslide-generating argument against Trump is not that he is a horrible person. Swing voters were reminded of that by Trump’s performance all evening, but few needed the reminder.
September 17, 2020 | American Prospect
Biden's Big Test: Selecting A White House Chief of Staff
Steve Ricchetti may be subtler and smarter than “Rahmbo,” but he would be no less of a threat if placed in charge of the Biden White House.
September 09, 2020 | American Prospect
Biden Stiff-Arming Big Tech Would Be Good Politics, Policy
If Biden, should he be elected, chooses not to fill his administration with the usual former industry executives, lawyers, and lobbyists, he will likely be making one of the most universally popular choices of any president in recent history.
September 03, 2020 | American Prospect
Mick Mulvaney: A Frustrated Wrecking Ball
It might be a shock to hear that government is “not good” at financial deregulation, given how it’s seemingly the one thing that’s popular on both sides of the aisle. But Mulvaney’s complaint is instructive; he’s frustrated that the civil servants who actually make the executive branch run happen to care about doing their jobs properly.
August 19, 2020
The Revolving Door Project On Aggressive Climate Action From The Executive Branch
Incalculable, world-historic pain and suffering are already happening as a result of the climate crisis. Yet the forces of big business responsible — most especially the fossil fuel industry, but also Big Ag, the military-industrial complex, and others — continue to spend tens of millions every year blackmailing American leaders into softballing or even ignoring the literal end of the world as we know it.
August 10, 2020
Jeff Hauser Max Moran Andrea Beaty Miranda Litwak
Blog Post Anti-MonopolyEthics in GovernmentRevolving DoorTech
The Revolving Door Project on Fighting Monopoly Power
Congress and the antitrust enforcement agencies have given unprecedented attention to the monopoly issues surrounding Big Tech in recent months. The scrutiny is one step toward rebalancing our increasingly concentrated economy, especially in the time of COVID-19, when small businesses are struggling to survive and corporations are further entrenching their power. But the problem of economic concentration extends far beyond Big Tech. It defines almost every corner of our economy. With the upcoming election and a potential shift in power, Joe Biden has an opportunity to reduce economic consolidation across the board, using executive branch powers including, but not limited to, reforming the antitrust enforcement agencies.
August 07, 2020 | The Intercept
On Climate Policy, Biden’s Advisers Reveal More Than His Proposals Do
Several of Biden’s informal advisers and confidants on energy policy are veterans of the Obama administration’s “all of the above” strategy, which embraced fossil fuel development and technologies like fracking while publicly trumpeting clean energy commitments.
July 31, 2020 | New Republic
The Future Of Trust-Busting Is In Joe Biden's Hands
Overall, it was a rout in favor of the anti-monopoly movement. So policy-wise, what does it all mean going forward? Almost nothing, unless Joe Biden appoints strong personnel.
July 28, 2020 | American Prospect
The 277 Policies For Which Biden Need Not Ask Permission
On their own, none of these 277 policies will fully solve any of the interlinked crises we now face. But they can go a significant way toward immediate harm reduction. Some can even solve long-standing problems, simply by enforcing or fully implementing laws already on the books.
July 21, 2020 | Sludge
Kamala Harris' Deep History Of Letting Facebook Off The Hook
One does not often rise through California politics at Harris’ speed without making some concerning friends in Silicon Valley.