January 04, 2022 | The New Republic
One Unexpected Way for Biden to Help the Climate and Rural America at the Same Time
The president has the power to reform the wayward Tennessee Valley Authority. It’s a bigger deal than you think.
December 22, 2021
Blog Post Corporate CrackdownEducationEthics in GovernmentExecutive BranchIndependent AgenciesRevolving Door
The Administration’s Actions on Federal Student Aid Deserve Sustained Scrutiny
Biden made big promises to American college students and graduates in his presidential campaign, just to walk them back when he became president.
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
Dorothy Slater Hannah Story Brown
Op-Ed Climate and EnvironmentDepartment of JusticeEthics in Government
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 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 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 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 03, 2021
Active Revolving Door Between Government and Contracting Industry Could Threaten Reform
Officially speaking, the federal government employs just shy of 3.6 million people (2.2 in the civilian workforce and 1.4 in the military). In reality, however, the number of people whose paychecks originate with the federal government (through grants or service contracts) is much larger — around 12 million according to recent estimates. This workforce, and the contracts that sustain it, rarely get much attention in public discourse. Yet, the federal government’s power to set standards and direct funds through contracting is not an insignificant one. President Biden has begun to tap into those powers with directives to raise the minimum wage to $15/hour for federal contractors and institute a vaccine mandate for those same workers. These are strong first steps but they only scratch the surface of what is possible and what is needed to address the many problems that plague federal contracting. Fully harnessing that power, however, will likely require confronting a deep-seated problem: an active revolving door between the offices charged with granting and monitoring federal contracts and the companies that receive them.
November 30, 2021
Fossil Fuel Loyalist Mitch Landrieu Is Biden's Pick To Manage $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill
President Biden signed the elusive bipartisan infrastructure bill into law on November 15th. It’s just the first part of a planned two-part infrastructure push, the other being the Democrat-only Build Back Better Act which Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have slashed to pieces. Yet Biden keeps calling the bipartisan bill he signed a climate bill.
November 23, 2021
Press Release Corporate CrackdownDepartment of JusticeEthics in GovernmentExecutive BranchIndependent Agencies
Polling Finds Enormous Bipartisan Support For Crackdown On Corporate Lawbreaking
70 percent of Republicans, 70 percent of Independents, and 70 percent of Democrats surveyed believe the Biden administration should do more to hold lawbreaking corporations accountable.
November 22, 2021
Press Release 2020 Election/TransitionClimate and EnvironmentEthics in GovernmentFederal ReserveFinancial Regulation
RELEASE: Revolving Door Project Criticizes Biden For Choosing To Own Ethics Scandals And Deregulation By Renominating Powell
“We are extremely disappointed to see Biden renominate Jerome Powell as Chair of the Federal Reserve Board. Biden’s endorsement of Powell’s deregulatory agenda will greatly harm American families. Biden has an ambitious and urgent agenda on climate, financial stability, and addressing racial and economic inequality. Powell as Chair of the Federal Reserve will make it more difficult for Biden to ultimately be a successful president. Today is a win for the conventional wisdom and Establishment and a defeat for the planet and Joe Biden’s ultimate legacy.”
November 20, 2021 | The American Prospect
Gensler Punts In Fight Over Auditing Watchdog
Gensler appears to have backed down from a full fight with Republicans on the SEC and in Congress. This is likely because Gensler needs to pick his battles, of which there are many. But in times as dire as these, choosing to let certain grifts carry on as normal is an ominous call.
November 19, 2021
FOIA Response Suggests Fed's Powell Was Dishonest About Personal Ethics Signoff
An inquiry from the Revolving Door Project has revealed the absence of any records of any communications of any kind between Powell and the Office of Government Ethics,
November 18, 2021 | The American Prospect
How Biden Can Protect Students From Predatory For-Profit Colleges
The Biden administration inherited a morass of understaffed and undermined federal agencies, weakened by the Trump administration. It makes sense that building back the government’s capacity would be an uphill battle for the Biden administration, with so many years of policymaking undermined by his predecessor. What doesn’t make sense is the jarring number of cases in which the administration is going out of its way, at considerable cost, to uphold Trump-era policies that go against Biden’s stated agenda and the public interest.