REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) – Elected President Joe Biden to be Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has spent more than $ 7 million speaking money on major financial corporations and technology giants over the past two years, including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Google, according to disclosure forms submitted as part of her nomination.
Yellen’s was one of three financial disclosures filed by Biden transition officials announced by the Office of Government Ethics on Thursday. In a separate submission, Yellen listed companies and banks where she had received speaking money and said she intended to authorize “ethical officials” in writing to “participate personally and materially” in matters affecting them.
Yellen was chairman of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018. Her term was not renewed by President Donald Trump. She took in the speaking money in 2019 and 2020.
Her election by Biden to head the Treasury Department was applauded by progressive Democrats, who support Yellen’s work as a labor economist who has long preferred to combat economic inequality. Since her nomination was announced, Yellen has vowed to work to combat systemic racism and climate change.
But receiving steep payments from Wall Street bankers and other powerful businesses could become a problem, as her nomination works through a narrowly divided Senate. Hillary Clinton received criticism from the left wing of the Democratic Party while she was elected president in 2016 because she received lucrative speaking money at Wall Street businesses.
A Biden transition spokesman said Friday that since leaving the Fed, Yellen has spoken at economic conferences, universities and with business groups and financial institutions about her experiences and her views on what we as a country can do to build a stronger economy and increase our competitiveness. He added that “this is not someone who beats when it comes to bad actors or bad behavior.”
On Thursday, disclosure forms were also announced of Biden’s choice to be Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, who set out his work at a consulting firm he co-founded, WestExec Advisors, LLC. They point out that Blinken was paid more than $ 1.1 million and entered into an agreement negotiated in October to sell his stake in the firm, where he advises clients, including Bank of America and Facebook.
Avril Haines, Biden’s choice to be national intelligence director, has revealed that he was a consultant at WestExec Advisors and was collecting about $ 55,000 in fees between October 2017 and last summer. In a separate letter to ethics officials, Haines promised to resign for a year in matters concerning WestExec as well as her other employers in the past, including Columbia University, Syracuse University and the Brookings Institution think tank.
Some advocacy groups began warning just after election day that Biden, who had been a Delaware senator for 36 years and served two terms as vice president, could rely too heavily on officials with strong ties to former Democratic governments. Many of those who have left jobs in the public sector for jobs in the private sector are now trying to return to government, which is concerned about the ‘revolving door’ between policy and corporate and financial influence.
However, Biden has largely shaken off such concerns, saying he is not afraid to rely on advisers with deep government experience. He promised to put together a cabinet that is well acquainted with the workings of government and full of members from across the racial and ideological spectrum who look like the diverse country they will represent.
According to Biden’s transition team, he will announce more cabinet visits before the inauguration day on January 20 next week. Among the posts still to be filled is the election of the elected president for labor secretary and attorney general – a choice that could be complicated by federal prosecutors investigating the finances of Biden’s son Hunter.