Newsletter 1: Revolving Door Project
Welcome to the Revolving Door Project’s biweekly update email!
So, you’re probably asking: What does the Revolving Door Project (RDP) do that’s unique such that you might appreciate yet another email in your inbox a couple of times every month?
Every two weeks, the Revolving Door Project will give you an update on how the executive branch is promoting economic inequality -- and what Congress is or isn’t doing in response, and whether 2020 presidential candidates would be any better.
The email builds on the Revolving Door Project’s unique focus on executive branch corruption. From independent agencies (e.g., the SEC, FTC, and FDIC) to semi-independent bureaus of Treasury Department (the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency & the IRS) to executive departments like Treasury, Commerce, and Education, the Revolving Door Project educates media and activists alike about personnel who pursue their crass private interest at the expense of the public.
But a narrow focus on the executive branch itself would not give the full picture about how our political system is or is not addressing capture of the executive branch by rent-seeking corporate interests. A full picture requires understanding to what extent the new Congress is or is not providing genuine oversight of the executive branch and corporate misbehavior. And looking forward, it is important to understand to what extent potential future presidents are positioning themselves to do better, worse, or the same on “revolving door” personnel issues as Presidents Trump and Obama.
So each update will include some news about:
Executive branch personnel -- everything from the latest revolving door “Acting” officials in the Trump Administration to the advent of yet another generation of corporate revolving door nominees. For example, Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan literally personifies the military industrial complex, having spent his career selling missiles and planes to the military, leading late Senator McCain to worry in 2017 than Shanahan was possibly a “fox” being put “into the henhouse" when originally nominated to be Mattis’ Deputy. Additionally, Attorney General nominee Bill Barr is not only hopelessly conflicted and extreme, he has turned past government service into a lucrative and long second career as a corporate political fixer.)
Independent Agency personnel: Independent Agencies matter so much more on so many more issues than is commonly understood. RDP will keep you up to date on who has or has not been nominated for these positions and why you should care.
Congressional Oversight of Executive Branch: Already, there are voices urging Congressional Democrats to avoid “oversight overreach”-- and yes, you are correct, that backlash to overreach occurred began several weeks before Democrats took control of the House of Representatives. RDP’s Jeff Hauser has already argued that Democratic Party subpoena power can be a powerful way to govern the House in a populist manner as well as begin to reach out to rural and small town America. Congress should seek to rein in corporate malefactors while revealing who in the executive branch is enabling their rent seeking.
And expect more soon on serious questions about how the leader of the Senate Democrats, Chuck Schumer, has failed to prioritize key independent agencies like the SEC, EEOC, FDIC, MSPB, and NLRB.
2020: It is a core belief of the Revolving Door Project that presidential primary campaigns are too focused on legislative agendas outside the capacity of a president to implement alone rather than the candidates’ vision for how they would staff their potential administrations. “Personnel *is* policy” in terms of how a potential president would or would not pursue regulation or enforce laws on issues ranging from financial regulation, taxes, and antitrust to white collar crime and the environment.
The RDP will be assessing the tea leaves to determine what is knowable about the vision of the “leading” (an admittedly unscientific term) candidates.
The Revolving Door Project exists to serve as a resource -- please do not hesitate to email Jeff Hauser at hauser at cepr.net with any questions on any of these topics.