Heard on the Hill, 12/2/2024
What we're hearing from people we trust on and around the Hill
Party time: We're excited to announce that we are hosting a Christmas Party along with our friends at the Manhattan Institute, during which MI's president, Reihan Salam, and our editor-in-chief, Matthew Foldi, will share their 2025 happenings. Sign up HERE before it’s too late.
Party with us: If you or your organization has a Christmas party or gala you want us to do an item on, please invite us! Our intrepid editor-in-chief Matthew Foldi has made it his mission to attend as many as possible in 2024. Please email him at matthew@washingtonreporter.news.
Reid Hoffman gone? Reports that Microsoft Director and left-wing billionaire Reid Hoffman may be leaving America out of distress that President Trump won has led to some raised eyebrows and laughs among Hill tech watchers. It’s safe to say that Hoffman is unlikely to serve as Microsoft’s liaison to the Trump administration.
Biden, plastics, and the UN: Hill sources say to expect substantial Republican pushback for the Biden administration’s last-ditch effort to work with the United Nations to ban common plastics (really?), including “single use plastic straws.” Our sources say the Trump administration will put an end to this on Day 1.
Juul staffing up — with Democrats? A lobbying disclosure for vape-manufacturer Juul Labs caught our eye. As most firms are hiring Republicans in the wake of Trump’s win, Juul’s latest lobbying payment was to Fulcrum Public Affairs, which was started by former Podesta lobbyists; the payments were for lobbying services from former staffers of Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Calif.).
340B challenges in Minnesota: Most Hill policy staffers are familiar with the controversial 340B program which allows hospitals to sell drugs at full price while pocketing a massive discount. A report from Minnesota that traces 340B spending caught our eye, as it showed a massive use of opioids like oxycodone, hundreds of millions in “administrator fees,” and missing data. Expect substantial and increased oversight of this program in the next Congress.
Pardon me? President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden did not come as a surprise to many outside the White House press corps, but it is damaging Biden and the Democratic Party just as he is getting ready to head for the exits. “Do Democrats still think no one is above the law?” Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) asked in response to the wide-ranging pardon.
Power down: Eleven Attorneys General, led by Texas’s Ken Paxton, filed an antitrust lawsuit against BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street, alleging that the giant asset managers are using their combined market power to fuel higher energy prices. According to Consumer’s Research’s executive director Will Hild, the suit shows that “there is verifiable proof that the big 3 asset managers have worked in tandem to leverage their combined ownership power to pressure coal companies into submitting to their Net-Zero goals.”
