
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 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
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 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 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.

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 20, 2021
Attention Democrats: Make Corporations Your Enemies
Actual politics requires taking action against actual villains to solve problems, not the shrugging and cowering which elites persuade themselves is ‘savvy.’

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.

November 17, 2021
Newsletter Climate and EnvironmentDepartment of JusticeExecutive BranchFederal ReserveIndependent AgenciesTreasury Department
After Infrastructure Week
Congressional selfies and self-congratulations inaugurated the week, but a lot of hard work remains to translate the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s (IIJA) policies into real-life results. Given that those policies are (generously) middling and that the most promising ones are underfunded, turning these into winning programs will demand energy, creativity, competence, and a strong commitment to the public interest.

November 09, 2021
Brad Crabtree And The Dangerous Love Story Of Oil Production And Carbon Capture
The process of enhanced oil recovery that Crabtree champions is dangerous. Aside from the considerable economic and scientific barriers to scale, discussed below, the model of the CCT Crabtree supports rests on an unethical premise: that decarbonization should be profitable for Big Oil.

November 04, 2021
When Republican Votes Advance Biden's Nominations
Rahm Emanuel’s nomination is not the first time a Biden pick advanced despite Democratic opposition.

November 02, 2021
New Report Details How Reduced Staff Capacity Will Hamper Climate Action
This administration has consistently affirmed its commitment to rebuilding the federal workforce. But with only 98 months left until 2030, at which point we will need to have cut U.S. emissions in half to avoid climate catastrophe, it should be clear that there’s no time to waste turning words to action.

October 29, 2021 | The American Prospect
Will Biden’s FDA Be Led by a Pharma Guy?
Dr. Robert Califf appears to be the clearest front-runner for the (somehow) still open position of commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. After floating his name in the press a few weeks ago, President Biden recently met with Califf in private. Such meetings tend to be the final step before a nominee is announced.
There’s just one problem: Califf is a longtime political consultant to Big Pharma and, more recently, to Big Tech. In fact, he’s so tied to those industries that he once earned the ire of a certain crucial senator from West Virginia.