POLITICS
What’s Missing from Biden's Inner Circle Story?
Washington D.C., USAMon Oct 07 2024
The New York Times recently took a deep dive into President Joe Biden’s key advisors. They called them “the strategist, the guru, and the confidant. ” But there was something interesting missing – Ron Klain’s past as a lobbyist. You might think that would be important, especially since he worked for Fannie Mae, which was in big trouble during the housing crisis.
Klain is known for keeping Biden focused and prepping him for debates. The Times mentioned some of his past work, like being chief of staff for Vice President Al Gore and working with John Kerry’s campaign. But they skipped over a part of his career – he was a lobbyist!
From 2002 to 2005, Klain lobbied for big companies like Fannie Mae, ImClone, Time Warner, Cigna, and even U. S. Airways. He talked to the government about their issues. You might remember Fannie Mae – it was a huge deal during the financial crisis. They were in trouble because they didn’t follow rules about lending money for homes.
The Times also didn’t mention that Klain worked for a pharmaceutical company, ImClone, which had problems with fraud. And he lobbied for a bunch of other things too – from helping companies merge to supporting ethanol production.
It’s weird that the New York Times didn’t talk about this part of his career. It might be important for people to know what kind of work someone did before they became an advisor to the president.
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questions
If Ron Klain were a character in a movie about lobbyists, what would be his most memorable line?
Given Klain’s history with Fannie Mae, how does this impact public trust in the administration’s economic policies?
In what ways could knowledge of Klain’s past clients influence how we perceive the administration’s policies and decisions?