Many of the new spending bills signed into law by Joe Biden have provided financial benefits to companies and other clients who once retained the consulting services of top White House adviser Anita Dunn.
According to the Daily Caller, Dunn previously served as a consultant with the public affairs firm SKDK, which she founded in 2004. Her clients included companies such as Pfizer, AT&T, and Micron, among others. As a result, Dunn, who is now serving as a Senior Adviser in the Biden Administration, has been forced to recuse herself on any issues related to past clients.
“Both White House ethics officials and OGE reviewed and certified Ms. Dunn’s financial disclosure report (OGE Form 278), and, as is customary for all new employees, she has received rigorous counseling regarding her recusal obligations,” said White House spokesman Chris Meagher. “In addition to statutory/regulatory requirements, she is recused under the Ethics Pledge from participating in any particular matters involving SKDK and any clients that she worked for in the previous two years.”
Nevertheless, many of the biggest pieces of legislation signed by Biden have seen many of Dunn’s former clients receive some form of financial aid, from bailouts to subsidies. Back in June, the Biden Administration agreed to a $3.2 billion COVID-19 vaccine deal with Pfizer in exchange for the company delivering 105 million doses of the vaccine by the fall of this year.
AT&T spent thousands of dollars lobbying for Biden’s infrastructure package that was signed into law last year, which, among other things, provided another $65 billion for domestic broadband. Micron stands to gain millions from the CHIPS Act Biden signed to increase domestic production of computer chips in an effort to outpace Chinese manufacturing; the bill allocates $52 billion to subsidize American chip manufacturing, and Micron announced an investment of $40 million into American manufacturing after the bill was signed.
Dunn assumed her role as Senior Adviser in April of this year, after previously serving as a temporary White House employee. In the preceding two years, she made over $738,000 from SKDK. Her financial disclosures prior to officially entering government service revealed an investment portfolio worth anywhere from $16.8 million to $48.2 million.