Revolving Door

July 23, 2021 | American Prospect

Max Moran

Op-Ed 2020 Election/TransitionForeign PolicyRevolving Door

It's Big Business As Usual For Biden's Ambassadorship Picks

If Biden is emerging as an anti-monopoly president, then why is he rewarding Cohen, a fixer for one of the go-to examples of monopoly power in America? More importantly, if he hopes to redeem American democracy from Trumpism, why is Biden rewarding the political strategist for a company that does not care about basic voting rights, especially for Black people?

July 16, 2021

Eleanor Eagan

Press Release Intellectual PropertyRevolving Door

With Rumored USPTO Pick, Biden Prioritized Patronage Over Patent Reform

After months of delay, Biden is rumored to have selected a new Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) acceptable to Delaware Senator Chris Coons. If true, that will mean Biden has sacrificed a critical opportunity to catalyze bold patent reform in the service of political patronage. Reports have indicated that Biden offered Coons, who expressed hope that coronavirus might be a “sword” for stronger IP protections, the power to decide the next USPTO Director as a consolation prize for not having been named Secretary of State.

July 08, 2021

Press Release BigLawClimateFinancial RegulationRevolving DoorTreasury Department

Biden Must Withdraw ExxonMobil- And Wall Street-Linked Nominee, 23 Groups Say

“As a private corporate attorney, MacBride defended fossil fuel companies, Wall Street giants, Big Tech monopolies, and a myriad of other corporate industries,” the groups wrote. “His past work fighting vigorously and successfully on behalf of corporations against the public interest disqualifies him from a role in the administration.”

July 08, 2021

Vishal Shankar Andrea Beaty Molly Coleman

Press Release BigLawRevolving Door

Biden Hires Top Officials From Big Tech-Aligned Law Firm, New Report Finds

Over the course of its decade-long partnership with Facebook, Latham has fought consumer data breach litigation, quashed federal investigations into corrupt practices by Facebook contractors, and advised on mergers and acquisitions that have cemented Facebook’s tech monopoly status (including its highly-controversial 2014 purchase of WhatsApp, a merger that is currently being challenged by the FTC).

June 14, 2021

Dorothy Slater

Blog Post ClimateFinancial RegulationRevolving Door

BlackRock’s New Hire Embodies The Polluting Giant’s Revolving Door Regime

Asset management giant BlackRock most recently made the news for buying up huge tracts of U.S. housing stock to become, essentially, a massive corporate landlord at the expense of all the rest of us. (Seems like they are learning a thing or two from private equity firm Blackstone, to which they formerly belonged, which is infamous for its predatory and downright evil infiltration of the housing market.)

June 10, 2021 | American Prospect

Max Moran

Op-Ed Federal ReserveFinancial RegulationRevolving Door

Jerome Powell Went Easy On Wall Street

Just as a president shouldn’t only be judged on whether or not they started a war, Fed chairs shouldn’t only be judged on whether they raised or lowered interest rates. That’s their most salient power, but they have other, more complex ways of affecting our lives. Financial regulation is one of the most important of these, and it’s one on which current Fed chairman Jerome Powell has failed badly.