The lobbyist brother of a top adviser to President-elect Joe Biden has reportedly been bringing in the clients since Biden’s victory was announced, sparking concerns about conflicts of interest in the White House’s new inner circle.
Jeff Ricchetti, Steve Ricchetti’s brother, Steve Ricchetti’s brother, got a lobbying contract with Amazon Web Services in November, less than a week after Biden was named the winner of the presidential election, CNBC reported Saturday.
Two days later, Jeff Ricchetti registered as a lobbyist for Evofem Biosciences and pushed for birth control coverage in federal health care plans.
That same week, Steve Ricchetti, who was Biden’s campaign chairman and his vice presidential chief of staff, was tapped as an “ adviser to the president, ” a position held by trusted aides such as Kellyanne Conway under President Trump.
The Ricchetti brothers co-founded their Washington, DC lobbying firm, Ricchetti Inc., in 2001. The company treated pharmaceutical customers such as Eli Lilly and Sanofi during Biden’s second vice presidential term, when Steve Ricchetti left the company to become Biden’s right-hand man. Man.
But his resume has received fierce charges from progressive Democrats.
Ricchetti “is a former pharmaceutical lobbyist and has represented groups that vehemently oppose Medicare For All and the public production of prescription drugs,” Alexandra Rojas of the progressive Justice Democrats group said last month.
“If Joe Biden continues to make business-friendly deals in his White House, he risks quickly breaking the hard-earned goodwill his team has built with progressives to beat Donald Trump,” she added.
A source assured CNBC that Jeff Ricchetti’s client list should not be a cause for concern.
“Steve and Jeff keep their professional activities clearly separate,” said the source.