WASHINGTON – Several members of President Biden’s White House team have ties to companies with large stakes in government positions in cybersecurity, antitrust and other policy areas, new federal disclosures show.
Among the companies that appear in the financial records released on Saturday to some senior White House employees are Microsoft Corp., which has been working with the government in the aftermath of two major cyber attacks in recent months, and Facebook Inc., which faces a federal antitrust lawsuit and Congressional scrutiny on how it moderates content on its platform.
The disclosures, which the White House made available upon request through an online portal, detail the assets of employees and their spouses, stock portfolios, earnings, non-governmental positions and debts for 2020 even when they entered public service this year.
Some of the ties may represent an initial test of how the Biden administration is interpreting its ethical promise, which obliges nominees to commit to not participating in any matter “involving specific parties that are directly and substantially related to my former employer or former clients, including regulations and contracts. ”On Saturday, the White House said that no waiver of the government’s ethical pledge was issued to White House officials.
It is not uncommon for senior government officials to have ties to important businesses, as all modern governments have turned to the private sector for important positions. The initial batch of advisers and officers in President Donald Trump’s office was drawn from the oil industry, Wall Street and its real estate and licensing businesses, among other sectors.