Paul Szypula
2024-05-21 12:42:31 UTC
Biden is winning over corporate America behind closed doors
President Joe Biden has had it out for corporate America for much of his
term.
Over the past three years, he has worked to dethrone the interests of big
businesses and billionaires, instead rooting his economic agenda in union
support, aggressive antitrust regulation, a crackdown on so-called junk
fees, promoting a tax on the wealthy, and blaming corporate greed for
consumers inflation-squeezed wallets.
As major corporations, many seeing record profits, overcharge the American
people in some cases keeping prices elevated despite inflation falling
President Biden is taking unprecedented action to deliver relief for middle
class families, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates wrote in a memo on
Monday.
The letter called out Big Pharma, grocery chains, credit card companies,
airlines and student debt creditors for price gouging, one of the
administrations go-to lines of attack.
This kind of rhetoric has left some in the corporate community with a sour
taste.
I think there are instances now where the rhetoric against industries and
companies is going too far, Neil Bradley, the chief policy officer at the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told CNBC in an interview earlier in May. Its
not a good look.
In response, the business community has repeatedly sued the Biden
administration for its regulatory action.
The Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit in April against the Federal Trade
Commission for its ban on workplace noncompete agreements. In a separate
legal challenge, the banking industry won a victory after a judge ruled to
pause the implementation of the White Houses new limits on credit card
late fees.
Rich special interests are pushing back to protect their abuses and junk
fees, Bates added in the Monday memo, nodding to those lawsuits.
Behind closed doors
Despite the public-facing hostility, relations between the White House and
the business community are cozier behind closed doors.
The people in the Biden administration overwhelmingly are incredibly
professional, Bradley said. They take meetings, return calls, they engage
with stakeholders across the spectrum with a wide variety of views.
Earlier this month, Biden and his cabinet members hosted eight executives
at the White House for a private roundtable where they talked about
infrastructure investment, geopolitical issues and the U.S. economys
performance relative to the rest of the world, according to people who
attended the meeting.
Among the attendees were United Airlines
CEO Scott Kirby, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser and Marriott International
CEO Anthony Capuano leaders in industries that have been targets of the
White Houses regulatory crackdown over the past several years.
The following day, Biden visited the battleground state of Wisconsin to
tout a $3.3 billion investment to build an artificial intelligence data
center from Microsoft, a company that the FTC has sued to block its closed
acquisition of video game maker Activision.
Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, thank you for your partnership and for
showing how we get things done and big things done in America, Biden
said in a speech during the Wisconsin visit. And thank you for your
friendship. I really mean it.
Those warm words dont quite fit with Bidens regular corporate antagonism
and are examples of the current balancing act between the president and
corporate America.
Biden, who has built a pro-labor, pro-consumer economic brand, needs the
help of industry leaders to make private infrastructure investments and
could use their support to pitch the effectiveness of his approach as the
November election nears.
The White House has a broader plan to stoke collaboration with the business
community, even while maintaining its hawkish regulatory approach.
A dinnertime deal
Top White House officials devised that plan at a dinner in early February,
according to a senior administration official.
Cabinet members like Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Commerce Secretary
Gina Raimondo, National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard decided
that each would set up a call or meeting with 10 CEOs to talk about how the
private sector can help implement Bidens key infrastructure investments
from policies like the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS Act, the
official said.
Since that February dinner, the team has had meetings with over 100 CEOs,
according to the official, on topics like artificial intelligence,
workforce training and pricing practices.
In March, Mark Cuban and other business leaders attended a White House
roundtable about lowering drug and healt-care costs.
Those issues are among the many economic concerns that are top of mind for
voters as the November rematch between Biden and former President Donald
Trump approaches.
In the months ahead, Biden will continue to hammer his message that he has
delivered a healthy post-pandemic economic recovery.
To make that case, the president is planning to collaborate with
businesses, rather than simply attack them. According to the senior
administration official, Bidens cooperation with the business community is
only going to continue to ramp up in coming months, especially on topics
like China trade and taxes.
Biden and the business community know they need each other to execute goals
like modernizing U.S. infrastructure and keeping pace with the global
economy.
Two things can be true, Bradley said. They can both have policies in
which theres big fundamental differences, and they can be open to
engagement in conversation and willingness to work together.
President Joe Biden has had it out for corporate America for much of his
term.
Over the past three years, he has worked to dethrone the interests of big
businesses and billionaires, instead rooting his economic agenda in union
support, aggressive antitrust regulation, a crackdown on so-called junk
fees, promoting a tax on the wealthy, and blaming corporate greed for
consumers inflation-squeezed wallets.
As major corporations, many seeing record profits, overcharge the American
people in some cases keeping prices elevated despite inflation falling
President Biden is taking unprecedented action to deliver relief for middle
class families, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates wrote in a memo on
Monday.
The letter called out Big Pharma, grocery chains, credit card companies,
airlines and student debt creditors for price gouging, one of the
administrations go-to lines of attack.
This kind of rhetoric has left some in the corporate community with a sour
taste.
I think there are instances now where the rhetoric against industries and
companies is going too far, Neil Bradley, the chief policy officer at the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told CNBC in an interview earlier in May. Its
not a good look.
In response, the business community has repeatedly sued the Biden
administration for its regulatory action.
The Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit in April against the Federal Trade
Commission for its ban on workplace noncompete agreements. In a separate
legal challenge, the banking industry won a victory after a judge ruled to
pause the implementation of the White Houses new limits on credit card
late fees.
Rich special interests are pushing back to protect their abuses and junk
fees, Bates added in the Monday memo, nodding to those lawsuits.
Behind closed doors
Despite the public-facing hostility, relations between the White House and
the business community are cozier behind closed doors.
The people in the Biden administration overwhelmingly are incredibly
professional, Bradley said. They take meetings, return calls, they engage
with stakeholders across the spectrum with a wide variety of views.
Earlier this month, Biden and his cabinet members hosted eight executives
at the White House for a private roundtable where they talked about
infrastructure investment, geopolitical issues and the U.S. economys
performance relative to the rest of the world, according to people who
attended the meeting.
Among the attendees were United Airlines
CEO Scott Kirby, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser and Marriott International
CEO Anthony Capuano leaders in industries that have been targets of the
White Houses regulatory crackdown over the past several years.
The following day, Biden visited the battleground state of Wisconsin to
tout a $3.3 billion investment to build an artificial intelligence data
center from Microsoft, a company that the FTC has sued to block its closed
acquisition of video game maker Activision.
Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, thank you for your partnership and for
showing how we get things done and big things done in America, Biden
said in a speech during the Wisconsin visit. And thank you for your
friendship. I really mean it.
Those warm words dont quite fit with Bidens regular corporate antagonism
and are examples of the current balancing act between the president and
corporate America.
Biden, who has built a pro-labor, pro-consumer economic brand, needs the
help of industry leaders to make private infrastructure investments and
could use their support to pitch the effectiveness of his approach as the
November election nears.
The White House has a broader plan to stoke collaboration with the business
community, even while maintaining its hawkish regulatory approach.
A dinnertime deal
Top White House officials devised that plan at a dinner in early February,
according to a senior administration official.
Cabinet members like Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Commerce Secretary
Gina Raimondo, National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard decided
that each would set up a call or meeting with 10 CEOs to talk about how the
private sector can help implement Bidens key infrastructure investments
from policies like the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS Act, the
official said.
Since that February dinner, the team has had meetings with over 100 CEOs,
according to the official, on topics like artificial intelligence,
workforce training and pricing practices.
In March, Mark Cuban and other business leaders attended a White House
roundtable about lowering drug and healt-care costs.
Those issues are among the many economic concerns that are top of mind for
voters as the November rematch between Biden and former President Donald
Trump approaches.
In the months ahead, Biden will continue to hammer his message that he has
delivered a healthy post-pandemic economic recovery.
To make that case, the president is planning to collaborate with
businesses, rather than simply attack them. According to the senior
administration official, Bidens cooperation with the business community is
only going to continue to ramp up in coming months, especially on topics
like China trade and taxes.
Biden and the business community know they need each other to execute goals
like modernizing U.S. infrastructure and keeping pace with the global
economy.
Two things can be true, Bradley said. They can both have policies in
which theres big fundamental differences, and they can be open to
engagement in conversation and willingness to work together.