Independent Agencies

Independent federal agencies establish and enforce the rules that define the shape of our economy and society. From preventing the next financial crisis to antitrust enforcement, and from employment discrimination to net neutrality, independent agencies’ decisions impact the lives of every American.

Unfortunately, information about independent agency leadership and voting records has been scattered and opaque, making it difficult for the public to hold these powerful bodies accountable. In this vacuum, corporations, with their ability to purchase specialized expertise, have succeeded in setting the agenda to serve their narrow interests at the expense of the public good. 

The Revolving Door Project’s agency spotlight and routine agency leadership tracking updates monitor agency personnel in order to help civil society ensure they play a role in choosing who gets these critical jobs. Because while the public interest-minded are only intermittently focused on appointments, we can rest assured that sectors of corporate America diligently monitor each and every one of these jobs, regardless of how seemingly obscure the agency might be.

October 09, 2024 | Revolving Door Project Newsletter

KJ Boyle

Newsletter

Climate and EnvironmentCorporate CrackdownFEMAHousingIndependent Agencies

RDP Work Round-Up: Pre-Election Edition

It’s time for another edition of an RDP Work Round-up to keep our loyal newsletter readers up-to-date with our blog posts. With the election less than a month away, now is the perfect time to look back at the polls, punditry, and policy debates that have dominated our news feeds lately. But first, we’d be remiss if we didn’t talk about the devastating hurricanes affecting the south east. 

September 10, 2024

Toni Aguilar Rosenthal

Blog Post Independent AgenciesProject 2025

Independent Agency Spotlight Update September 2024

Since our last update on May 23, 2024, we have seen an encouraging amount of new nominees emerging from the White House. Many of these nominations, thankfully, address long standing expirations, vacancies, and partisan gridlocks that have long defined the 40 independent agencies that we track. That said, few confirmations emerged from the Senate this summer, and we continue to advocate for simple, common sense, Senate rule changes to hasten the confirmation process and to aid in the staffing and fuel basic functionality of the federal government.

August 07, 2024

Kenny Stancil Jeff Hauser

Press Release BankingFinancial RegulationIndependent Agencies

RELEASE: Republicans’ Failure to Push for Quick Confirmation of Christy Goldsmith-Romero Shows Their Real Goal Was to Weaken Bank Regulation, Not Protect FDIC Workers

The fastest way to remove FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg is to confirm Christy Goldsmith-Romero to lead the agency. Republicans say they want to get rid of Gruenberg, so why aren’t they calling for the immediate confirmation of Goldsmith-Romero?

July 26, 2024

Will Royce

Blog Post Administrative LawIndependent AgenciesLabor

Texas Judge Hands Elon Musk A Big Win, Workers A Big Loss

On Tuesday, Judge Alan D. Albright of the Western District of Texas sided with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and ruled that the structure of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is unconstitutional. Specifically, the Judge ruled against the removal protections enjoyed by administrative law judges and the board’s members. The preliminary injunction will prevent the NLRB from pursuing an unfair labor practice charge against SpaceX, but as Matt Bruenig explains, “The real question is going to be what the Supreme Court does once this case makes it to their docket.”

July 16, 2024

Will Royce

Blog Post Executive BranchGovernment CapacityIndependent AgenciesProject 2025Revolving Door

Former Trump Officials Wrote 25 of the 30 Chapters in the Project 2025 Playbook

Former President Trump has recently sought to distance himself from Project 2025 and its radical proposals, claiming that he knows “nothing about” it, has “no idea who is behind it,” and has “nothing to do with them.” Project 2025 has tried to create some distance as well, maintaining in a recent tweet that it is “not affiliated with former President Trump.” It’s a classic example of drawing a distinction without a difference.

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.

April 13, 2024 | Talking Points Memo

Toni Aguilar Rosenthal

Op-Ed

Climate and EnvironmentIndependent AgenciesState Attorneys General

Republican AGs Are Teaming Up With The Corporations Poisoning Their States To Gut The Clean Air Act. Why?

More than 8 million people die from air pollution and fine particulate matter globally every year, according to the BMJ, a peer reviewed medical journal. Of that number, over 5.13 million people die from ambient air pollution resulting from fossil fuels use. Experts say that deaths from air pollution are also on the rise, and are currently expected to double by 2050. In the U.S. alone “350,000 may die annually from pollution produced by the burning of fossil fuels.” According to the American Lung Association (ALA) more than one-fourth of Americans live with “air pollution that can hurt their health and shorten their lives.” Of course, risk and exposure are themselves not borne equally; cities in the western U.S., along with communities of color, disproportionately bear the brunt of air pollution’s public health harms.

February 22, 2024

KJ Boyle

Blog Post Climate and EnvironmentIndependent AgenciesState Attorneys General

Trump Judge And Louisiana AG Fight To Maintain Environmental Racism

In 2022, Biden’s EPA opened an investigation into Louisiana’s Departments of Health (LDH) and Environmental Quality (LDQ) for failing to sufficiently protect residents of “Cancer Alley”—a strip of predominantly poor, Black communities suffering the dire effects of pollutants spewed from nearby petrochemical plants. To their credit, LDH and LDQ cooperated with the investigation and worked to craft more stringent standards and oversight protocols. Former Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, however, had other ideas. His office filed a lawsuit challenging the EPA’s (clear) authority to pursue its investigation under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which allows the government to terminate federal funding for an agency found to have engaged in discrimination. Liz Murrill, Landry’s successor, is picking up the torch to carry on his malevolent agenda. 

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.