- Days after the 2020 presidential election, Amazon hired a lobbyist whose brother is an adviser to President-elect Joe Biden.
- Jeff Ricchetti, whose brother Steve Ricchetti serves as Biden’s adviser, was appointed a lobbyist for Amazon on November 13, as CNBC first reported.
- Ricchetti will lobby Amazon on issues related to COVID-19 and the CARES act, according to lobby disclosure forms.
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Days after the 2020 presidential election, Amazon hired a lobbyist whose brother is a close adviser to President-elect Joe Biden.
Jeff Ricchetti, whose brother Steve Ricchetti will serve as White House adviser to Biden, was appointed a lobbyist for Amazon on November 13, as CNBC first reported.
A lobby registration form submitted by Ricchettis’ company, Ricchetti Incorporated, lists Seattle’s Amazon.com Services LLC as its newest customer. Ricchetti signed forms filed in the House and Senate lobby databases on December 23. Forms do not reveal payment.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
A source told CNBC that the brothers keep their family and professional life separate.
“Jeff has never and will never lobby his brother on behalf of any of his clients, and Steve has had no role in his brother’s business since he sold his stake in the company in 2012,” a source told CNBC.
Steve Ricchetti has been part of Biden’s political sphere for years. He served as second-term chief of staff, while Biden was vice president. When Biden takes over the White House in January, Richetti will be an adviser to the president, an important right-hand man and sounding board.
Ricchetti will lobby Amazon on issues related to COVID-19 and the CARES law, according to the forms.
Amazon’s health ambitions have been described as enormous. Along with Amazon Pharmacy, which launched in most states, it is building Amazon Care, a primary care service for large employers.
Last week’s release marked the first time Ricchetti’s company, K Street, recorded a release listing Amazon. But Ricchetti filled out two other forms in December, both detailing lobbying efforts for other healthcare clients.
For Evofem Biosciences, a biopharmaceutical company, Ricchetti’s lobby on “federal health policies regarding coverage of contraceptive services”. For Vaxart, a vaccine development company, he is lobbying on “legislative and regulatory policies related to the development and financing of oral vaccines”, according to his release.
Amazon has a long list of lobbyists with whom it worked, including its own lobbying arm, Amazon.com Services LLC, which consumed $ 4.41 million in funding in the third quarter, according to a disclosure form.