(RepublicanInformer.com)- According to a report in the Washington Free Beacon, the lobbyist brother of White House counsel Steve Ricchetti is making the most of his familial relationship to arrange meetings between his clients and the White House.
Jeff Ricchetti, the younger brother of Biden’s advisor, lobbies on behalf of General Motors.
And wouldn’t you know it? In March, GM executives got a meeting with Steve Ricchetti at the White House just weeks after General Motors CEO Mary Barra had urged the president to expand federal subsidies for electric vehicles and increase federal spending on chip manufacturing.
What a coincidence!
It pays to have an inside man in the Biden White House, does it not?
Ricchetti the younger was hired by General Motors less than two weeks after Joe Biden was sworn in. Since he was hired, GM has paid the younger Ricchetti $280,000 to lobby the government (aka his brother in the White House) on its behalf.
Steve Ricchetti has a long history with Joe Biden, serving as his chief of staff when Biden was Vice President. Since Biden announced his campaign for president in 2019, Ricchetti the younger saw a massive influx of new clients, going from only representing 3 companies in early 2019 to representing 19 companies today.
The Ricchetti brothers have been a point of contention among ethics experts since the start of this administration, so much so, that the White House ethics office forced Steve Ricchetti to recuse himself from matters involving four of his younger brother’s other clients, GlaxoSmithKline, Vaxart, Horizon Therapeutics, and TC Energy.
Richard Painter, former White House ethics lawyer under George W. Bush, told the Free Beacon that Richetti should be required to recuse himself from having any part in any matter involving clients from his brother’s firm.
Last year when President Biden flew to Michigan to promote his plan to build charging stations for electric vehicles, Ricchetti was back in Washington negotiating the bill with members of Congress, despite General Motors being a beneficiary of such legislation.
Since the start of Biden’s presidency, General Motors has enjoyed extensive access to the administration, but the March meeting is the first time GM executives are known to have met with Steve Ricchetti personally.
In February, Joe Biden’s niece Missy Owens lucked out big-time when General Motors hired her to be its chief of “Environment, Sustainability, and Governance.”
