Biden Arguably Faces Most Challenging Circumstances Ever
Newsletter 67: Trump broke both the federal government’s capacity & adherents’ brains; Biden should focus on addressing forcefully that which he can actually fix (the government)
Just under three hours remain before Biden is sworn in and his administration launches off of the starting line. First things first: fire every Trump official who remains behind (within the bounds of legality, of course). After that? Well, everything else.
Transition:
For the foreseeable future, governing is going to take place at an all-out sprint. It will be a race to get: 100 million shots in people’s arms by the end of April; money in the hands of people, businesses, states and municipalities; Trump’s egregious rules rolled back; the nation on a path towards a just transition and on and on. So how likely are they to pull it off?
That is still very much an open question. As has consistently been the case throughout Biden’s transition, available indicators are a pretty mixed bag. Biden’s team is clearly taking some steps to address our most immediate crises with the urgency required. Soon-to-be President Biden has already reportedly berated his COVID-19 taskforce for not making fast enough progress in laying the groundwork for his ambitious vaccination goal. With the help of advice from former Obama administration officials, the transition team has reportedly been proactively identifying senior civil servants to lead agencies in an acting capacity while Cabinet officials await confirmation. That’s a welcome sign that Biden is serious about putting agencies to use right away.
On the other hand, the incoming President is reportedly intent on trying to strike a deal with Republicans in Congress on a new stimulus package rather than using budget reconciliation. That will be a costly waste of time at a moment when the country simply can’t afford any delays.
When it comes to the people who will be carrying Biden’s ambitious agenda, most of the last week’s announcements give reason for optimism. The transition announced Deputy Secretaries for Agriculture, Education, Health and Human Services, Interior, Transportation over the long weekend. All five women come out of state and local government or public interest-focused nonprofits and bring expertise in their given policy areas to bear on their roles. Most of the figures in Biden’s latest batch of climate policy picks earned praise from movement figures. And on Monday, Biden indicated that he would nominate Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Rohit Chopra to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) (in addition to making Gary Gensler’s nomination to the SEC official).
Yet, troubling names continue to emerge. After insisting that she was not interested in a White House job, Anita Dunn will be returning to government after all. She claims that she will be back at SKDKnickerbocker by the end of the year -- once again representing illustrious clients like charter schools, hedge funds, landlords opposing rent protections, and more -- but who knows? Meanwhile, the reported frontrunners that Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust role are some of our monopolistic hellscape’s principal architects. If this was a trial balloon to see how progressives would react… well, Hulk (aka esteemed indie film actor Mark Ruffalo) went smash.
Early reporting on Biden’s as-of-yet unreleased ethics executive order suggests that the administration will not, unsurprisingly, be shutting these figures out. But there are several planks of the plan worth celebrating. The inclusion of a “golden parachute ban” -- a longtime progressive priority -- was welcome news as was a restriction on post-employment shadow lobbying. The order will also reportedly include a preamble that will “ask officials to commit to acting in the public interest and to not do anything that would create the appearance that they used government service for private gain after they leave office” a strong standard if the Biden administration is serious about sticking to it. We’ll provide further analysis later, but our take on this report is that Biden is, in fact, “Building Back Better.” This plan exceeds all that came before it, including Barack Obama’s which was, until now, seen as “best in class.”
Like much of the transition, however, this is good enough for us to be encouraged, not so good as to fully satisfy our (admittedly high) previously announced standards.
As we’ve argued, it will be in Biden’s interest to apply ethics standards stringently and to hold his administration to a high ethical bar in all areas. Right wing media is eager to go on the attack for perceived corruption and their cynical barbs are sure to find a large audience.
Anti Monopoly:
Look no further than the outcry over Biden’s potential antitrust picks to see what we mean. Both of the reported frontrunners are like poster children for the revolving door. Renata Hesse, a former Justice Department official, has represented Google, Amazon, and several pharmaceutical companies in merger cases. (Her work while in government was hardly redeeming either; Hesse delivered the legal opinion that has allowed tax filing software companies like Intuit to make a killing off of services that should be free). The other frontrunner, Juan Arteaga, has represented financial firms, including the private equity firm KKR, and AT&T.
Right wing pundits and Republican lawmakers have already taken notice of and raised objections to these troubling bios. If either is appointed, there is every reason to believe that they will be hounded and that any mistake or perception of a soft touch with their former employer will be the subject of unending scrutiny. This begs the question: why would Biden turn these positions into a political liability when they could be such a strong asset?
Anger at growing corporate power -- especially at BigTech -- is a thoroughly nonpartisan sentiment. Ruthlessly pursuing corporate monopolies is one of the best opportunities Biden will have to unite the country behind him, but it’s not going to happen if people like Hesse or Arteaga are tasked with leading the charge.
Congressional Oversight
With scant hours remaining before Trump leaves office, it appears that we have avoided the worst case scenario from his Schedule F executive order. Despite their evil intentions, anti-civil service crusaders were seemingly not able to make mass firings a reality. Initial reporting also suggests that conversions to Schedule F for the purposes of burrowing did not materialize (although follow-up from the Biden administration and Congress to confirm that that is the case is certainly in order).
Nonetheless, close attention to Trump’s impact on the civil service is still imperative. Even without mass removals or large-scale burrowing in, there will be no shortage of landmines for the Biden administration to navigate within the halls of government. Attrition over the last several years has been severe and that loss of expertise will be an obstacle for successful policymaking and implementation until its remedied. We also know that some burrowing in through traditional means is occurring. And there’s almost certainly more we don’t know about.
As Eleanor Eagan lays out in a piece for Slate this week, there’s a strong political case to be made for thorough investigations. “The new administration already faces many obstacles and high expectations; quiet sabotage and hollowed-out institutions will only push that success further out of reach. If the Biden administration appears inept due to poorly understood forces, House Democrats will be the first to be punished for it.” By uncovering and publicizing the damage, congressional lawmakers can help the Biden administration to circumvent obstacles and place the blame squarely where it belongs when it does stumble.
Want more? Check out some of the pieces that we have published or contributed research or thoughts to in the last week:
Trump Has Quietly Hollowed Out the Government
Behind Big Tech's Crackdown on the Right Is a Fight Over Biden Antitrust Policy
TNR Live: How to Govern Our Way Out of Trump’s Mess
WEBINAR: Joe Biden's BlackRock Cabinet Picks
Wall Street should fear new Biden financial regulators, experts say
Joe Biden's Newest Climate Appointees Provide Reason For Cautious Optimism
Antony Blinken's confirmation hearing: 5 things to know about Biden's secretary of state nominee
Big Tech Critics Alarmed at Direction of Biden Antitrust Personnel
Janet Yellen Readies Big Changes for Treasury
Jeff Zients, Biden's COVID czar, inherits hardest job in administration
Biden’s Wall Street backers face new threat from Warren
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