The pipeline has produced a dominance of WestExec alums throughout the administration. Even by Washington standards, it’s a remarkable march through the revolving door, especially for a firm that only launched in 2017. https://t.co/BTfvWfeq0s
— The Intercept (@theintercept) July 10, 2021
WestExec is the name of the road that links the White House to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is used by the Administration officials, including the President and the Veep.
It is also a “consulting firm” based in Washington, D.C. that Politico once called, “a government-in-waiting for the next administration.” It covers risk analysis, strategy development, and other related services related to national security and foreign policy. It was co-founded by none other than Obama’s former Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken (now Secretary of State under Joe Biden) and former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy.
WestExec employs many former military and government officials, and promotes their “recent experience at the highest levels of the U.S. government” (security clearances, contacts, etc.) as well as their “networks” in the defense, intelligence, and other communities as benefits to potential clients.
In November 2020, President-elect Joe Biden announced that he was considering three WestExec employees for cabinet positions in his administration. Multiple news sources have reported on the firm’s lack of transparency and potential conflicts of interest. Influence Watch has more here.
The New York Times – a Dem friend if ever there was one – has called the firm an example of “how former officials leverage their expertise, connections and access on behalf of corporations and other interests.” It is a classic example of the lucrative “revolving door” between the military, the civil service and “Beltway Bandits”, the D.C. Swamp insiders who snap up government contracts and let a great deal of our money stick to their paws.
The Intercept has an in-depth look at the people in the Administration right now who can trace their path vis WestExec.
Other publishers are waking up. Here’s Breitbart.
President Joe Biden has “legalized corruption” by placing more than 15 former WestExec members in key places within his administration, the Intercept revealed Wednesday. https://t.co/yqA6ZmlfOQ
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) July 7, 2021