Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has reportedly hired Facebook executive Jessica Hertz to his transition team as its general counsel to oversee ethical issues.
The New York Post reports that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s transition team has hired top Facebook executive Jessica Hertz to its general counsel to oversee ethical issues. The move reportedly comes as the campaign struggles with Facebook to have posts by President Trump censored on the platform. This is the second Big Tech executive to join Biden’s campaign. Biden hired Twitter’s Director of Public Policy, Carlos Monje, as co-chair of the transition team’s infrastructure policy committee.
Hertz will reportedly be responsible for “enforcement, oversight, and compliance” of the ethics plan that Biden’s team unveiled this week.
The ethics plan reportedly follows similar guidelines set out by former President Barack Obama to restrict the role of lobbyists in the administration. Many on the left are not happy about the hiring of Hertz. Jeff Hauser, director of the leftist Revolving Door Project, told Politico: “The ultimate arbiter for ethics for the Biden transition was a senior regulatory official for Facebook up until a few months ago, at a time when progressives and the Biden campaign are fighting against the right-wing agenda of Facebook. Please make it clear that I think the Trump administration is insanely corrupt and I’m not equating the two, but this is deeply disappointing.”
Similarly, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has supported Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), also expressed displeasure over the hiring of Hertz. A spokeswoman Caitlin Lang told Politico: “Biden-Harris ethics rules should go as far or further than the Obama-Biden administration in banning corporate lobbyists, officers, or agents with conflicting loyalties from serving in the next Administration. These ethics rules unfortunately are not as strong as the Obama administration’s and do not come close to rebuilding trust in government or meeting this moment.”
Biden’s transition team defended the hiring with a spokesperson stating: “As the Vice President’s former deputy counsel with experience advising high level federal agency officials, Jess is exactly the kind of thoughtful and principled decision maker who can ensure the Vice President’s high standards are upheld during the transition.”
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com
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