Marcia Fudge, who resigned a few months ago, has a crucial position in public policy at a law firm that is assisting the Biden administration.
Fudge is now a spouse and the public policy director at Taft Stettinius &, Hollister, according to the company, which was founded in 2021 and became a member of HUD shortly after violating a federal law prohibiting provincial officials from engaging in political actions. The company, which pulled in$ 598 million in revenue last year and has offices in the Midwest and Washington, D. C., also scooped up Imani Edwards and Garrett McDaniel, who worked as staff under Fudge at HUD.
Fudge’s resignation from HUD and his appointment to Taft Stettinius &, Hollister opens a window into the revolving door between former K Street and the federal government, where former officials profit from their contacts and acquired skills to gain effect in the country’s capital. Prior to his 2024 election contest against previous president Donald Trump, Fudge will be campaigning on industrial growth problems and addressing issues relating to Joe Biden‘s campaign. She stated in a statement that “my top priority as a president has always been to deliver benefits and successful solutions for the people and communities I have been called to serve.”
Chocolate is prohibited from communicating with HUD people for two years and from certain direct” dark” lobbying for one year, according to a Biden White House morality pledge law. The pledge aims to prevent obvious conflicts of interest caused by government officials working on issues they previously worked on.
” Former Secretary Marcia L. Fudge may definitely agree to all aspects of her White House Ethics Pledge, including the two- time cooling- down period with HUD”, Susan B. Kilkenny, a spokeswoman for Taft Stettinius &, Hollister, told the Washington Examiner.
” Also, she may not join in any advocacy activities”, Kilkenny said.
However, according to watchdog organizations, the public generally has a legitimate conflict of interest concern when federal officials transition to the private sector, especially with Fudge’s unusually quick move. Taft Stettinius &, Hollister lobbied HUD next month, in addition to the agencies of Defense, Transportation, Homeland Security, and other organizations, according to federal data.
Within a few months of her leaving the presidency, Protect the Public’s Trust director Michael Chamberlain said,” The whirling door has not spun faster, and now it’s big enough to loan a former HUD minister and two of her top aides at a well-known “influence store.”
” I have a feeling for agency ethics officials who are working to prevent violations of post-government ethics laws. Rather than bolstering the public’s evaporating trust in its government, incidents like these demonstrate that the American public needs to be more vigilant than ever in watching for conflicts, ethical issues, and the influence of special interests”, Chamberlain added.
A portion of Taft Stettinius &, Hollister’s lobbying last year, for example, was directed to HUD on behalf of the Millennia Companies, which owns and operates over 280 apartment developments in 26 states, according to Millenia Companies. The Millennia Companies notably received a$ 15 million loan from HUD in 2023 to build a historic building in Cleveland despite receiving a letter from HUD in March 2024 informing Millennia Companies that it was prohibited from contracting with the government for five years due to some rumored disputes involving its properties.
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Taft Stettinius &, Hollister also lobbied in 2023 on issues of economic development and housing, as well as appropriations funding, for the Cleveland- based nonprofit group ​Burten, Bell, Carr Development Inc., and on urban development for the city of Elkhart, Indiana, among other advocacy.
According to Revolving Door Project director Jeff Hauser,” a lot of corporate clients could benefit from spitballing with Secretary Fudge.” According to him, Fudge will be able to get in touch with former Capitol Hill employees and provide clients with insight into Congress’s inner workings “based on information she gleaned in the executive branch.” This is an ethics pledge loophole, he told Politico.
