When newly filed records showed the brother of a top adviser to President Joe Biden lobbied the National Security Council for a major automaker, it became the latest concern for ethics experts who see a porous firewall despite the president’s ethics pledge.
Jeff Ricchetti, whose brother Steve Ricchetti is a counselor to the president, was paid $60,000 during the second quarter of 2021 to lobby the council on “issues related to China” on behalf of General Motors, according to a recent disclosure.
Under the Trump administration, the automaker sought to have tariffs removed from their Buick Envision, which is made in China. The request was denied.
Biden has continued many of former President Donald Trump’s trade policies, including on Chinese exports.
Jeff Ricchetti did not respond to a request for comment about the disclosure and questions about who he met with, what issues were discussed, when they met, and whether tariffs were discussed. A National Security Council official did not respond to the same questions.
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Jeff Ricchetti told CNBC in an email he no longer lobbies the White House Office. The National Security Council, which Biden chairs, is part of the Executive Office of the President, along with the Council of Economic Advisors and the Office of Management and Budget. Jeff Ricchetti did not lobby the EOP under Trump, according to federal records.
A longtime Democratic operative, Jeff Ricchetti’s brother Steve held positions in the Obama and Clinton administrations. He’s now a key negotiator on the White House’s bipartisan infrastructure plan, one part of a broad portfolio for his role. Steve Ricchetti is also one of Biden’s closest aides, spending last weekend with the president golfing in Wilmington, Delaware.
Jeff Ricchetti also worked on the infrastructure bill, on behalf of General Motors, according to federal disclosures. The brothers co-founded the Ricchetti Inc. lobbying firm soon after George W. Bush came into office in 2001, which Jeff has continued to lead.
Steve Ricchetti, who has not been a registered lobbyist since 2009, became then-Vice President Biden’s counselor in 2012, selling his Ricchetti Inc. stake that year. As counselor to the president, Steve has recused himself from issues related to his brother and his clients. His brother’s work for GM during infrastructure negotiations did not require recusal by his brother because he didn’t lobby the Executive Office of the President and the issue on which he was focused, electric car charging stations, was not specific to the company, a White House official told the Washington Post.
Business for Ricchetti’s firm has boomed since Biden won the presidential election last year. It brought in $820k in the first quarter of 2021, close to five times the amount his company earned in the first quarter of 2020, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Jeff Ricchetti has defended his work and said he maintains a firewall between his clients and brother.
“I do not lobby my brother, and I have not even mentioned to him the names of clients that I currently represent,” Jeff Ricchetti told CNBC in April. “For the better part of the last 30 years, I have lobbied members of Congress and their staff and various individuals who have served in the successive administrations. It is what I do for a living.”
Biden’s ethics pledge prohibits staff from working on public policy issues linked to their former employer or clients. It also mandates a cooling-off period for staffers leaving the administration, preventing them from lobbying the government for several years.
“Well, let me say, first, that we have the highest ethical standards of any administration in history,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said earlier this year. “A number of ethics officials have conveyed that, and we’re proud of that.”
Biden has also vowed to run the most ethical White House team “in history.” But experts told the Washington Examiner that Jeff Ricchetti’s work lobbying the executive office while his brother advises the president raises concerns.
“Ricchetti is being treated as if his long-term relationship with Biden makes obvious ethical issues irrelevant. But the lesson of the Trump years should both be that obvious conflicts of interest are very important and that many circumstances are both legal and shady,” said Jeff Hauser, who runs the Revolving Door Project at the liberal Center for Economic and Policy Research. “It would be a great moment for bipartisan ethics reform legislation.”
“Technically, Jeff Ricchetti is not a government official, so the government’s ethics rules don’t apply to him. He is, however, a citizen and the brother of a top presidential aide, so you’d think basic patriotism would be reason enough for him to refrain from lobbying the Executive Office of the President and undermining public confidence in government,” said Walter Shaub, director of the Office of Government Ethics under former President Barack Obama and briefly under former President Donald Trump. “While Steve Ricchetti can’t control his brother, he could at least ask Jeff Ricchetti to stop — especially given that the brother is using a lobbying firm that Steve co-founded.”
Shaub called the White House’s refusal to disclose who Jeff Ricchetti has lobbied “extremely disappointing” and compared it to a visitor log loophole that officials appear unwilling to close.
“Why don’t they think they owe the public transparency? At a minimum, this runs contrary to the transparency goals that led the White House to promise it would release White House visitor logs,” he said.
The White House has refused to disclose virtual meetings, even as many occur virtually due to pandemic safety precautions.
“The mystery about Jeff Ricchetti’s communications with White House staffers is a prime example of why this is a problem,” Shaub added.
In June, Steve Ricchetti’s son J.J. joined the Treasury Department as a special assistant in the office of legislative affairs, one of three of his children to join the Biden administration.
Shaub criticized the practice, calling it “appalling.”
“Don’t get me started on the White House serving as the Ricchetti family employment agency,” he said.
The White House is also facing scrutiny for a plan to shield Hunter Biden, the president’s son, from ethical concerns as he prepares to sell more than a dozen paintings valued up to $500,000.
Psaki said the gallerist selling Hunter Biden’s work has agreed to keep buyers’ identities private, a proposition meant to eliminate undue influence.
But despite attending events to promote the sale, Psaki said Hunter Biden would not be glad-handing with buyers.
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Shaub said White House officials could go further to minimize graft and boost transparency around the sales.
“While the White House can’t control Hunter Biden, there’s no reason they can’t pledge that, if they learn the names of any buyers of Hunter’s art, they’ll notify the public if the buyer then has any communication with a political appointee of this administration,” Shaub said. “The fact that they refuse to do this speaks volumes about a lack of respect for the public when it comes to government ethics.”
