Joe Biden’s Transition Is ‘Much Better’ Than Barack Obama’s, Author Says
Author Matt Stoller argued on Monday that Joe Biden’s transition has been significantly better than Barack Obama’s after his 2008 electoral victory.
“The Biden transition – though incredibly cringe – is so so much better than what Obama put together,” he tweeted.
“To be clear, I’m not praising Biden, I’m pointing out how awful Obama actually was. Biden’s people are either corrupt shallow hacks or well-meaning technocrats, whereas Obama mostly chose actively malevolent con artists.”
Stoller’s comments were in response to The Wall Street Journal’s report on new additions to his forthcoming government, including former Obama economic adviser David Kamin, longtime Elizabeth Warren adviser Bharat Ramamurti, and economist Joelle Gamble.
As reported by The New York Times, Biden recently nominated former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg for transportation secretary. Buttigieg is notably supportive of making the United States carbon neutral by 2050 and restoring Obama-era vehicle emissions standards.
“We selected Pete for transportation because the department is at the intersection of some of our most ambitious plans to build back better,” the president-elect said, echoing one of his campaign’s slogans.
Although Stoller offered some praise for Biden’s transition, others have been more pessimistic. In a July article from The American Prospect, Jonathan Guyer spotlighted two then-potential Biden nominations — Anthony Blinken and Avril Haines, who are now nominated for Secretary of State and Director of National Intelligence, respectively — who reportedly have ties to WestExec Advisors. The columnist said the strategic advisory firm is part of the “shadowy world” of strategic consulting that tends to “blur corporate and governmental roles.”
Elsewhere, Fox News host Tucker Carlson argued that the outward appearance of the Democrat’s transition team hides a core that will allegedly serve the interests of America’s wealthiest. The host highlighted purportedly concerning members of the transition’s review group such as Airbnb strategic planner Clare Gallagher, Lyft senior director Brandon Belford, and Amazon international tax director Tom Sullivan.
According to Reuters, big technology companies from Silicon Valley are making a covert push to influence Biden’s forthcoming administration. Like Carlson, the publication noted that the Democrat’s transition team is filled with more tech executives than critics and has appointed several officials from prominent technology companies to its staff. The news outlet cited four sources who claimed that executives and employees at companies like Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are aiming for Big Tech candidates to get placed in senior roles within Biden’s administration.
Biden transition spokesman Cameron French explained that administration appointees and transition review members will all be committed to helping the forthcoming White House implement policy ideas.
