REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) – President-elect Joe Biden’s choice to serve as treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, has raised more than $ 7 million in lecture fees over the past two years from major financial companies and technology giants, including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Google, according to disclosure forms filed as part of their appointment.
Yellen’s was one of three financial disclosures made by Biden transition officials that were made public on Thursday by the Office of Government Ethics. In a separate case, Yellen listed companies and banks where he had received fees to speak and said he intended to “seek written authorization” from ethics officials to “participate personally and substantially” in matters involving them.
Yellen was the president of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018. Her term was not renewed by President Donald Trump. She paid the lecture fees in 2019 and 2020.
His choice of Biden to lead the Treasury Department was applauded by progressive Democrats, who support Yellen’s work as a labor economist who has long prioritized combating economic inequality. Since his appointment was announced, Yellen has pledged to work to combat systemic racism and climate change.
But receiving exorbitant payments from Wall Street bankers and other powerful corporations can become a problem as your nomination paves its way through a divided Senate. Hillary Clinton faced criticism from the left wing of the Democratic Party when she ran for president in 2016 for having received lucrative fees for speaking at Wall Street companies.
A Biden transition spokesman said on Friday that since leaving the Fed, Yellen “has spoken at economic conferences, universities and business groups and financial institutions about his experiences and his views on what we can do as a country to build a stronger economy and grow our competitiveness. ”He added that“ this is not someone who makes a fuss when it comes to bad actors or bad behavior ”.
Also disclosed on Thursday were the disclosure forms for Biden’s choice to be secretary of state, Antony Blinken, who detailed his work at a consulting firm he co-founded, WestExec Advisors, LLC. They show that Blinken received more than $ 1.1 million and made a deal, negotiated in October, to sell his stake in the company, where he advised clients like Bank of America and Facebook.
Avril Haines, Biden’s choice to be national director of intelligence, revealed to be a consultant with WestExec Advisors and to have received about $ 55,000 in fees between October 2017 and last summer. In a separate letter to ethics officers, Haines promised to abstain for a year on issues involving WestExec, as well as his other previous employers, including Columbia University, Syracuse University and the Brookings Institution think tank.
Some advocacy groups began warning shortly after election day that Biden, who was a Delaware senator for 36 years and served as vice president for two terms, could over-trust officials with strong ties to previous Democratic governments. Many of these have left public sector jobs for jobs in the private sector and are now seeking to return to the government, raising concerns about the “revolving door” between corporate and financial policy and influence.
Biden, however, has largely minimized these concerns, saying he is not afraid to have advisers with deep government experience. He pledged to set up a Cabinet well versed in the functioning of government and full of members from across the racial and ideological spectrum who look like the diverse country they will represent.
Biden’s transition team says it hopes to announce more choices for the cabinet next week, before the inauguration day on January 20. Among the positions yet to be filled are the selection of the president-elect for secretary of labor and attorney general – a choice that can be complicated by federal prosecutors investigating the finances of Biden’s son Hunter.