These 80 Executives, Lobbyists, Corporate Lawyers and Consultants Are Doing Donald Trump’s Bidding
By Alan Zibel
As recently as this spring, President Donald Trump proclaimed that he is “not beholden to any political or financial interest.” His final campaign ad pledged that a Trump administration would replace the “failed and corrupt” political establishment,.
The trouble is, Trump has directly contradicted these promises, according to a report issued by Public Citizen. Trump has packed his administration with corporate executives, corporate lawyers, corporate lobbyists and corporate consultants. A look at 115 sub-Cabinet officials nominated or announced by the White House (excluding ambassadors) reveals extensive ties to corporate America.
Of the White House’s nominees for these jobs, 80 people, or nearly 70 percent of sub-Cabinet officials, had a clear corporate connection, having worked in a corporate job or done corporate legal work or corporate consulting. The remaining 35 had no direct corporate ties, though many are nevertheless ideologically committed to a deregulatory agenda that would benefit powerful corporate interests at consumers’ expense.
In the Trump administration, auto industry lobbyists are setting transportation policy, Boeing has a top perch at the Department of Defense, Wall Street is in control of financial policy and regulatory agencies, and corporate defense lawyers staff the key positions in the Justice Department. In Washington, D.C., personnel is policy, and the occupation of key government positions by corporate insiders ensures corporate cronyism will worsen.
The report shows that Trump’s nominees represent a who’s who of major lobbying firms, law firms and corporate titans. They include:
● 29 current or former executives at companies including Boeing Co., Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Invesco Ltd., Exelon and Bear Stearns. Many of these companies have cultivated ties to the administration, including Boeing, which gave $1 million to pay for Trump’s inauguration.
● 26 corporate lawyers from major firms including Kirkland & Ellis, Dechert, Sullivan & Cromwell, Jones Day and Mayer Brown. Filling top Justice Department posts are a lawyer who represented the tobacco industry, a lawyer who fought federal regulations for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a lawyer who represented BP in the Gulf disaster.
● 15 current or former registered lobbyists from lobbying firms including Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, King & Spalding and Ogilvy Government Relations as well as several registered lobbyists who have worked directly for corporate interests.
● 10 corporate consultants who did work for companies including Lockheed Martin and Hewlett-Packard, including a former congresswoman who has faced ethical questions over her work helping Lockheed keep a key nuclear weapons laboratory contract.
| Agency | Name | Title | Job Category | Company/Firm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Intelligence Agency | Courtney Simmons Elwood | General counsel | Lawyer | Kellogg, Hansen |
| Commerce | Mira Radielovic Ricardel | Under Secretary for Export Administration | Executive | Boeing |
| Commerce | Elizabeth Erin Walsh | Director general for the United States and Foreign Commercial Service and assistant secretary for global markets | Executive | Goldman Sachs, Cisco Systems, |
| Commerce | David J. Redl | Assistant secretary for communications and information | Lobbyist | CTIA - The Wireless Association |
| Commerce | Michael Platt | Assistant secretary for legislative and intergovernmental affairs | Lobbyist | Recording Industry Association of America, Microsoft |
| Commerce | Karen Dunn Kelley | Undersecretary for economic affairs | Executive | Invesco Ltd |
| Commerce | Gilbert Kaplan | Undersecretary for international trade | Lobbyist | King & Spalding |
| Commerce | Richard Ashooh | Assistant secretary for export enforcement | Lobbyist | BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin |
| Commodity Futures Trading Commission | Christopher Giancarlo | Chairman | Executive | GFI Group Inc., Fenics Software |
| Commodity Futures Trading Commission | Brian D. Quintenz | Commissioner | Executive | Saeculum Capital Management, Rose International, Hill-Townsend Capital, Merrill Lynch |
| Commodity Futures Trading Commission | Dawn DeBerry Stump | Commissioner | Lobbyist | Stump Strategic |
| Defense | Owen West | Assistant Secretary of Defense, Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict | Executive | Goldman Sachs |
| Defense | Kenneth Rapuano | Assistant Secretary for Homeland Defense and Global Security | Executive | ANSER Corporation |
| Defense | John Gibson | : Deputy Chief Management Officer | Executive | XCOR Aerospace, Looking Glass Investments, Beechcraft |
| Defense | Kari A. Bingen | Principal deputy undersecretary for intelligence | Executive | Aerospace Corporation |
| Defense | Lucian Niemeyer | Assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations, and environment | Consultant | The Niemeyer Group LLC |
| Defense | Charles Douglas Stimson | General Counsel of the Department of the Navy | Executive | Heritage Foundation,Marsh & McLennan |
| Defense | Richard V. Spencer | Secretary of the Navy | Executive | Fall Creek Management, LLC. Intercontinental Exchange Inc |
| Defense | Ryan Dean Newman | General counsel of the Army | Lawyer | Jones Day |
| Defense | Ryan McCarthy | Undersecretary of the Army | Executive | Lockheed Martin |
| Defense | David G. Ehrhart | General counsel of the Air Force | Executive | Lockheed Martin |
| Defense | Heather Wilson | Secretary of the Air Force | Consultant | Solo consultant; Lockheed Martin was client. Former congresswoman faced ethical scandal over nuclear lab contract |
| Defense | Robert R. Hood | Assistant secretary for legislative affairs | Executive | CH2M |
| Defense | David Norquist | Undersecretary/comptroller | Executive | Kearney & Co |
| Defense | David Trachtenberg | Principal deputy undersecretary for policy | Consultant | CACI International Inc |
| Defense | Patrick Shanahan | Deputy secretary | Executive | Boeing |
| Education | Carlos G. Muñiz | General counsel | Lawyer | McGuireWoods LLP |
| Education | Peter Louis Oppenheim | Assistant Secretary for Legislation and Congressional Affairs | Lobbyist | Carmen Group |
| Energy | Dan R. Brouillette | Deputy secretary | Lobbyist | USAA, Ford |
| Energy | David S. Jonas | General counsel | Lawyer | Fluet Huber + Hoang |
| Environmental Protection Agency | Susan Bodine | Assistant administrator for enforcement and compliance assurance | Lawyer | Barnes & Thornburg LLP |
| Executive Office of the President | Gregory Doud | Chief Agricultural Negotiator | Lobbyist | Commodity Markets Council, National Cattlemen's Beef Association |
| Executive office of the President | Jeffrey Gerrish | Deputy U.S. trade representative, (rank of ambassador) | Lawyer | Skadden, Arps |
| Federal Communications Commission | Ajit Pai (Reappointment) | Commissioner | Lawyer | Verizon |
| Health and Human Services | Matthew Bassett | Assistant secretary for legislation | Executive | myNexus, Davita Inc |
| Health and Human Services | Stephen T. Parente | Assistant secretary for planning and evaluation | Consultant | University of Minn/Health Systems Innovation Network |
| Health and Human Services | Seema Verma | Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services | Consultant | Solo consultant; Hewlett-Packard was client |
| Health and Human Services | Scott Gottlieb | Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration | Executive | New Enterprise Associates |
| Health and Human Services | Brett Giroir | Assistant secretary for health | Executive | ViraCyte, LLC |
| Health and Human Services | Robert Charrow | General Counsel | Lobbyist | Greenberg Traurig, Intrexon Corp. |
| Health and Human Services | Eric Hargan | Deputy secretary | Lawyer | Greenberg Traurig |
| Homeland Security | John Marshall Mitnick | General counsel | Lawyer | Raytheon |
| Homeland Security | Brock Long | Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency | Consultant | Hagerty Consulting, former director of Alabama emergency management agency |
| Homeland Security | Lee Francis Cissna | Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services | Lawyer | Kaufman & Canoles, Steptoe & Johnson, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart |
| Homeland Security | David P. Pekoske | Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration. | Executive | PAE, A-T Solutions |
| Homeland Security | Elaine C. Duke | Deputy secretary | Consultant | Duke & Associates |
| Housing and Urban Development | J. Paul Compton Jr. | General counsel | Lawyer | Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP |
| Housing and Urban Development | Neal J. Rackleff | Assistant secretary for community planning and development | Lawyer | Locke Lord LLP |
| Interior | David Bernhardt | Deputy secretary | Lobbyist | Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck |
| Justice | Steven Engel | Assistant attorney general for the Office of the Legal Counsel | Lawyer | Dechert LLP |
| Justice | Jeffrey Bossert Clark | Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources | Lawyer | Kirkland & Ellis LLP |
| Justice | Brian Allen Benczkowski | Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division | Lawyer | Kirkland & Ellis LLP |
| Justice | Christopher A. Wray | Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation | Lawyer | King & Spalding LLP |
| Justice | Makan Delrahim | Assistant attorney general for the antitrust division | Lobbyist | Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck |
| Justice | Rachel L. Brand | Associate attorney general | Lawyer | U.S. Chamber of Commerce, WilmerHale |
| Justice | Noel J. Francisco | Solicitor general | Lawyer | Jones Day |
| Justice | Beth Ann Williams | Assistant attorney general | Lawyer | Kirkland & Ellis LLP |
| National Transportation Safety Board | Robert L. Sumwalt III (Reappointment) | Board member | Executive | Spent 23 years as US Airways pilot, manager at SCANA |
| Nuclear Regulatory Commission | Annie Caputo | Commissioner | Executive | Exelon |
| Nuclear Regulatory Commission | David Wright | Commissioner | Consultant | Self; clients unclear |
| Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission | Heather L. MacDougall (Reappointment) | Commission member | Lobbyist | HR Policy Association |
| Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission | James J. Sullivan | Commission member | Lobbyist | JMS Consulting |
| Overseas Private Investment Corporation | Ray Washburne | President | Executive | Charter Holdings, M Crowd Restaurant Group |
| Overseas Private Investment Corporation | David Steele Bohigian | Executive Vice President | Executive | Pluribus Ventures, Bridgewater Associates, Jefferson Partners, Idealab |
| Securities and Exchange Commission | Jay Clayton | Chairman | Lawyer | Sullivan & Cromwell |
| Small Business Administration | Althea Coetzee | Deputy administrator | Executive | Abbott Labs |
| State | John J. Sullivan | Deputy secretary/Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources | Lawyer | Mayer Brown |
| State | Eric Ueland | Undersecretary for management | Lobbyist | The Duberstein Group |
| Transportation | Derek Kan | Undersecretary of transportation for policy | Executive | Lyft |
| Transportation | Steven Gill Bradbury | General Counsel | Lawyer | Dechert LLP |
| Transportation | Jeffrey A. Rosen | Deputy secretary | Lawyer | Kirkland & Ellis LLP |
| Treasury | Andrew "Drew" K. Maloney | Assistant Secretary (Deputy Under Secretary) for Legislative Affairs | Lobbyist | Hess Corp., Ogilvy Government Relations |
| Treasury | David J. Kautter | Assistant secretary for tax policy | Consultant | RSM US, Ernst & Young |
| Treasury | Marshall Billingslea | Assistant secretary for terrorist financing | Consultant | Deloitte |
| Treasury | Joseph Otting | Comptroller of the Currency | Executive | Former CEO, OneWest Bank |
| Treasury | Sigal Mandelker | Under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence | Lawyer | Proskauer Rose |
| Treasury | David Malpass | Undersecretary for international affairs | Executive | Bear Stearns |
| Treasury | Brent James McIntosh | General counsel | Lawyer | Sullivan & Cromwell |
| Treasury | Heath P. Tarbert | Assistant secretary for international markets and development | Lawyer | Allen & Overy LLP |
| Veterans Affairs | Brooks D. Tucker | Assistant secretary for congressional and legislative affairs | Executive | Deutsche Bank, First Union Securities, Merrill Lynch |