has welcomed in at least 27 of his. The new appointees previously worked with four Biden nonprofit organizations launched after his time as vice president—the Biden Foundation, the Biden Cancer Initiative, the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware and the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania.
Many of Biden’s appointees are longtime aides who worked with the president when he previously held office. In general, their career paths look something like the one followed by longstanding advisor Antony Blinken. In the Obama administration, Blinken served as deputy secretary of state. During the Trump years, he cofounded consulting firm WestExec Advisors and became a managing director of the Penn Biden Center. Once Biden was back in office, Blinken took over as secretary of state.
While the appointees who came from the Trump Organization were criticized for their lack of government experience, ethics experts have different qualms with some of Biden’s appointees. “That’s not uncommon for presidents to want somebody close to them that they trust,” says Shaub. “I think the bigger concern becomes when that makes you overlook these other kinds of connections these folks have, like Blinken’s connection to WestExec.
Amber Macdonald, now a senior presidential speechwriter, received compensation from both the Biden Foundation and the Biden Cancer Initiative through a firm she owns. In addition, she disclosed more than $5,000 of income from Giacoppa, one of two S-corporations Joe and Jill Biden used to manage book earnings and speaking fees.