New report reveals ‘revolving door’ between the Biden administration and Microsoft
Jack Elbaum
Video Embed
It’s worth considering just how many influential Biden administration officials were once a part of the companies it is now tasked with regulating.
A new report from Politico reveals that there is effectively a revolving door between the Biden administration and the multinational tech company Microsoft. It reads: “At least 13 people who serve as senior or mid-level Biden administration officials previously worked or consulted for Microsoft.”
Who are these officials? The most prominent are “Secretary of State Antony Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.” The rest are spread out “in numerous other departments [such as] Commerce, Veterans Affairs, and the Pentagon.” They have each made thousands of dollars from Microsoft and a few have more than $50,000 in Microsoft stock.
This matters because it demonstrates just “how embedded the company is in official Washington, as it seeks to fend off antitrust enforcers and shape how artificial intelligence is regulated.” In other words, it matters because the federal government is currently having to decide the proper way of regulating companies such as Microsoft.
Politico quotes the director of the Revolving Door Project, who said “It would be one thing if the government were hiring Microsoft computer engineers to solve complex technological challenges — it’s another thing for Microsoft to have preemptively developed financial relationships with a wide swathe of the Administration in waiting.” Consequently, “Microsoft has to be ecstatic” about this.
Additionally, “Microsoft and its subsidiaries spent nearly $10.5 million on federal lobbying last year and retained more than two dozen outside lobbying firms “
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
It remains unclear the extent to which this is bearing fruits for Microsoft, as it is in the midst of a fight with the FTC right now. However, Microsoft is also currently working with the Biden administration to effectively write regulations for itself regarding AI.
It appears that much of this is business as usual. But as Congress continues to consider new Big Tech and antitrust regulations, it will be important to keep these significant connections between the administration and the tech giant in mind. As the mission statement of the Revolving Door Project says, we can “ensure [officials] use their office to serve the broad public interest, rather than to entrench corporate power or seek personal advancement.”
Jack Elbaum is a summer 2023 Washington Examiner fellow.