The lobbyist brother of a top White House adviser has raised more than $8 million from clients since President Biden took office in January 2021, and several companies that keep the firm tied are receiving direct boosts from Biden’s legislative agenda. the administration.
Jeff Ricchetti, brother of Presidential Counsel Steve Ricchetti, received $8.3 million between the first quarter of 2021 and the third quarter of 2023, according to Senate lobbying disclosures.
That’s about four times what Jeff earned between the first quarter of 2017 and the third quarter of 2019, when Donald Trump was in the White House and lobbying firm Ricchetti Inc. received about $2.2 million.
The windfall came as the Biden administration repeatedly celebrated the work of companies Ricchetti lobbied for, including one of the largest U.S. automakers, medical and pharmaceutical companies and Amazon.
Several of the companies lobbyist Jeff Ricchetti represents received direct boosts from President Biden’s legislative agenda. AP Jeff Ricchetti, brother of Biden’s senior adviser Steve Ricchetti, received $8.3 million between the first quarter of 2021 and the third quarter of 2023. Finseca
Family ties have led ethicists to ask Steve Ricchetti to recuse himself from any discussions with lawmakers that could be related to his brother’s firm, where Steve worked from 2001 to 2012.
“Steve Ricchetti should completely recuse himself from any of the legislation his brother’s firm is lobbying for, and then have the White House not take calls from his brother,” said Richard Painter, former chief ethics lawyer at the George firm. W. Bush. administration, he told the Washington Free Beacon that he was the first to report on the deal.
Walter Shaub, director of the US Office of Government Ethics during the Obama era, criticized the Biden administration in June 2021 for engaging in “illegal” acts of nepotism during his first year of employment.
“Steve Ricchetti should completely recuse himself from any piece of legislation his brother’s firm is lobbying for,” said President George W. Bush’s former ethics lawyer.Getty Images
“I’m sorry, I know some people don’t like to hear criticism of him. But this really sucks. “I’m disgusted,” he said. “Many of us worked hard to prepare him to restore ethics in government and believed in the promises. “This is a real ‘fuck’ for us and for the ethics of the government.”
“I did not pressure my brother nor have I pressured the White House this quarter,” Jeff Ricchetti told the Wall Street Journal in July 2021 when asked about his work.
The White House has also maintained that Steve Ricchetti refrains from participating in his brother’s business lobbying efforts.
During his first year in office, Biden visited a General Motors electric vehicle factory in Detroit months after Congress passed his bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure package.Reuters
During his first year in office, Biden visited a General Motors electric vehicle factory in Detroit, months after Congress passed his bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, which included $7.5 billion for charging stations. electric vehicle charging and $5 billion for electric and low-emission vehicles. buses.
Jeff Ricchetti’s 2021 lobbying disclosures show he was paid six-figure sums to handle “issues related to tax incentives for electric vehicles and charging stations” and “climate policy issues affecting the broader auto industry.” ”.
A month later, Biden also signed an executive order requiring vehicles purchased by the government to be zero-emission by 2035.
The younger Ricchetti also represents the semiconductor manufacturer Applied Materials, whose headquarters Vice President Kamala Harris visited in May 2023.AP
Jeff Ricchetti also represents semiconductor maker Applied Materials, whose headquarters Vice President Kamala Harris visited in May to promote passage of the CHIPS Act, which provided $52 billion in subsidies for domestic semiconductor production.
Taiwanese vaccine distributor Medigen also hired Jeff to lobby Congress on “issues related to Covid-19 vaccines accepted for foreign travelers to the United States.”
The following year, the National Institutes of Health granted Medigen a global technology license to combat the fast-spreading Omicron variant, which was then used to vaccinate nearly 1 million Taiwanese citizens.
Walter Shaub, director of the US Office of Government Ethics during the Obama era, criticized the Biden administration in June 2021 for engaging in “illegal” acts of nepotism.Getty Images
Other clients of Ricchetti Inc. include pharmaceutical and healthcare companies GlaxoSmithKline, Horizon Therapeutics, Vaxart Inc., Neurocrine Biosciences, Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals and Eisai.
At the same time, Jeff Ricchetti has worked for TC Energy Corporation, which manages the Keystone XL pipeline that Biden shut down shortly after taking office.
The White House and Jeff Ricchetti did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn