As the backlash against tech giants from progressive groups and regulators grows, Google, Facebook and other tech giants are trying behind the scenes to push candidates to senior positions in the Biden administration in order to influence the administration to make policies favorable to the tech giants.
The Biden transition administration has placed more tech company executives on its agency review team than more tech company critics, Reuters reports. The team has also added to its staff several officials from big tech companies, which are top donors to the Biden campaign.
Tech giants aim to break into key agencies like Commerce Department
Executives and employees of Alphabet Inc’s Google, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft Corp. and other tech companies are now pushing to place candidates in senior positions at government agencies, Reuters quoted four people familiar with the matter as saying.
According to people familiar with the matter, the target agencies for many of these executives include the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs, a key agency under the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that drafts policies affecting the technology industry, the State Department and the Defense Department.
Many tech executives in some cases helped raise money for the Biden campaign or have ties to people in the Biden transition administration. There is also a huge business interest for them in promoting the placement of industry-connected candidates to serve at the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission. Both agencies are investigating whether big tech companies abused their market power.
What is certain is that there is no formal process for tech executives to recommend their candidates to the transition administration, the report said. Cameron French, a spokesman for the Biden transition administration, said members of the agency review team and future administration appointees will work to implement Biden’s policy ideas.
Facebook and Microsoft declined to comment to Reuters. Jay Carney, Amazon’s director of public policy and communications, told Reuters that Amazon is not trying to get anyone from the company placed in the new administration. “Any suggestion to the contrary is completely false.” Carney said.
Google spokesman Jose Castaneda said, “As a company, we don’t make any recommendations and are not aware of any such communications.”
Tech companies seek to influence future government decisions
Researchers, lawyers and consultants who have tracked the Biden transition or worked with the team told Reuters that the moves are part of an effort by officials at many large technology companies to influence future government decisions. They are also making sure the Biden administration is not swayed by the ideas of progressive Democrats and the growing anti-trust movement, which has been pushing for stricter scrutiny of big tech companies.
“In 2020, it’s bad politics to appoint a tech company’s CEO or top executive directly to your cabinet.” “said Max Moran, a fellow at the Revolving Door Project. He added that allies of big tech companies have begun to appear among the candidates for Biden’s job.
For example, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, a Silicon Valley billionaire, has been making personnel recommendations for Defense Department appointments as the company tries to pursue military contracts and defense jobs, according to three sources.
Similarly, two Amazon officials have gotten spots on Biden’s agency review panels for the State Department and the Office of Management and Budget.
Now, Amazon executives are pushing for allies to take positions within the Biden administration, according to people familiar with the matter. Among the names that have emerged is Indra Nooyi, the former executive of PepsiCo. Nooyi is now a member of Amazon’s board of directors. There have been claims that Nooyi may be appointed to run the Commerce Department.
Unlike other companies, Facebook has already made significant inroads into the Biden transition administration, multiple sources said.
For example, former Facebook executive Jessica Hertz (Jessica Hertz) is the general counsel for the Biden transition government. Former Facebook program manager Austin Lin is a member of the Executive Office of the President’s Institutional Review Team. Erskine Bowles, a former Facebook board member, is already advising the transition administration, and Jeff Zients, another former Facebook board member, has now been selected as Biden’s prevention coordination officer.
Another ally of some major tech companies is Biden’s choice for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, according to four sources. Blinken has ties to both Amazon and Google. Google is a client of WestExec Advisors, which Blinken founded. Blinken also helped hire Jay Carney, Amazon’s head of public policy and communications, onto Joe Biden’s media team in 2008.
Four sources said the names thrown around by tech companies have been discussed in meetings held by Biden’s institutional review team. The teams have made several hiring recommendations, they said.
But the focus on the agencies by progressive interests and members of Congress is likely to make it more difficult for Silicon Valley to succeed, the sources said.
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