Anti-Monopoly

April 24, 2024 | Revolving Door Project Newsletter

KJ Boyle

Newsletter

Anti-MonopolyIndependent AgenciesRevolving Door

National Small Business Week 2024

This Sunday marks the start of National Small Business Week (NSBW). Hosted by the Small Business Administration (SBA), NSBW is an opportunity to celebrate the contributions that small businesses make to both the economy and our communities. It also allows Biden and his surrogates to go on a press tour touting his achievements in helping small businesses compete in an economy increasingly characterized by corporate consolidation. 

Yet, once again, the Small Business Administration is squandering the potential of its signature event by partnering with the very same monopolistic corporations that Biden’s antitrust enforcers are fighting in the courts.

March 18, 2024

Andrea Beaty

Press Release Anti-MonopolyCongressional OversightEthics in Government

RELEASE: Virginia General Assembly Must Investigate Leonard Leo’s Influence On State’s Largest Public Research University

Today, the Revolving Door Project, Take Back the Court Action Fund, People’s Parity Project, Freedom BLOC and the George Mason University chapter of the American Association of University Professors sent a letter to members of the Virginia General Assembly calling on them to investigate Leonard Leo in regard to his undue influence on George Mason University. The groups called on the state legislature to investigate what Leo-tied activities are taking place under the aegis of a state school.

March 06, 2024 | Revolving Door Project Newsletter

Hannah Story Brown

Newsletter

Anti-MonopolyConsumer ProtectionGovernment CapacityIRS

Throwing the Public’s Defenders Under the (Mini)Bus

By Friday, Congress needs to vote on a proposed “minibus”—a package of six out of the 12 necessary government spending bills for fiscal year 2024—to avoid a partial government shutdown. We’ve got a handy explainer of all the federal budget terms you wish you didn’t need to know, from “minibus” to “poison pill” to the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which is the reason why our country’s grotesque military budget is getting a $26 billion boost up to $886 billion, while non-defense spending is getting a $4 billion cut, down to $773 billion.

While there are plenty of damning narratives to derive from the latest in government appropriations dysfunction, there is one story in particular that we’re anxious to see told by the White House and Congressional Democrats, and it’s this…

March 05, 2024 | The Sling

Dylan Gyauch-Lewis

Op-Ed Anti-MonopolyFinancial Regulation

The Proposed Merger of Capital One and Discover Deserves Rigorous Scrutiny

Last month, Capital One announced that it plans to purchase Discover in a deal worth $35.3 billion. For their campaign to secure regulatory approval, Capital One is trying to act like a benevolent pro-consumer company that will use economies of scale to lower interest rates and ramp up competition with Visa and Mastercard. But that’s probably baloney. 

February 26, 2024

Andrea Beaty

Press Release Anti-MonopolyEthics in GovernmentTechTrade Policy

RELEASE: Wyden Unethically Champions Big Tech’s Anti-Regulatory Push Despite Wife’s Massive Investments In Apple, Microsoft, Amazon And Google

A new report this weekend revealed how the wife of Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has maintained significant financial ties to Big Tech companies even as the Senate Finance Committee Chairman is playing a leading role in Big Tech’s global push for deregulation.

January 31, 2024 | Revolving Door Project Newsletter

KJ Boyle

Newsletter Anti-MonopolyExecutive BranchIndependent AgenciesLaborRevolving Door

More Revolvers Join The Fight Against The Regulatory State

The regulatory authority of the executive branch is under attack, and BigLaw firms stacked with revolvers are on the front lines leading the assault. I’ve previously written about former FTC Commissioner Christine Varney challenging the legitimacy of her former employer on behalf of pharma company Illumina. Lawyers at Latham & Watkins, a firm stacked with revolvers from executive branch agencies, are before the Supreme Court challenging the Chevron Doctrine, which defers to executive agencies’ interpretations when legislative statutes are unclear. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s ability to hold administrative proceedings hangs in the balance as we await the Supreme Court’s decision in SEC v. Jarkesy, where the Fifth Circuit’s ruling decimated the agency’s authority. In a new attack, revolvers on the labor/management relations team at Morgan Lewis & Bockius have their sights set on the plutocrats’ latest target: the National Labor Relations Board.