Ex-Biden official faces backlash over thinly veiled warning to companies when Dems are back in charge
A former top official in the Biden and Obama administrations recently caused a stir after she appeared to vow political retribution against companies once Democrats regain control in Congress and the White House.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., last week condemned plans for political retribution he believes Democrats, such as Susan Rice, hope to enact when they regain power and argued that both parties should refrain from using government power to pressure their political opposition.
"What Ms. Rice is talking about is payback," Kennedy said, referring to comments Rice, who served as Biden's domestic policy council director, had made on a podcast last month.
In a media appearance Rice gave with Vox in February, she warned that companies that had aligned themselves with President Donald Trump’s priorities could face Democratic scorn down the road.
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"I’m going to quote [her]," Kennedy said. "‘When it comes to the elites, you know, the corporate interests, the law firms, the universities, the media, it’s not going to end well for them.’"
In that podcast appearance, Rice promised that Democrats would not quickly forget their posture.
"They’re going to be held accountable by those who come in opposition to Trump and win at the ballot box," Rice said.
"I think whether you’re a law firm, whether you’re a university, whether you’re a media entity, whether you’re a big corporation, whether you’re big tech, you need to play a long game, not this short game that has been so detrimental," Rice added.
Kennedy said he found Rice’s comments troubling.
"What Ms. Rice seems to be saying is that it's okay in America today to use the law to prosecute and harass your political enemies. I find that astounding coming from a person of her statue," Kennedy said.
Rice, who in addition to her Biden administration role was former President Barack Obama’s ambassador to the United Nations, could not be reached for comment.
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Kennedy framed political retaliation as a practice that in recent years started under the Biden administration and, in particular, with then-Attorney General Merrick Garland, who launched probes of Trump while he was campaigning to recapture the presidency.
In 2021, Garland appointed special counsel Jack Smith to investigate whether Trump had interfered with a transfer of power after the 2020 election and whether Trump had mishandled classified information following his presidency.
Kennedy recalled thinking that Garland and Biden had set a new precedent they would regret.
"And I remember thinking at the time: They have unleashed spirits they cannot control," Kennedy said.
Although he primarily focused on remarks from Democrats like Rice, Kennedy said he opposes continued political retaliation from across both parties, noting that Trump has received his fair share of accusations of weaponizing the government against political opponents.
Trump has received criticism for investigations opened by his Department of Justice (DOJ) into figures like former national security advisor and Trump critic John Bolton, New York Attorney General Letitia James, who helped spearhead prosecutions against Trump in New York, and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who has resisted policy changes Trump has pushed.
"And I know some are going to say, well, ‘President Trump is doing the same thing.’ If that's true, I don't like that either," Kennedy said.
"Two wrongs don't make a right. It was wrong then when President Biden did it; it's wrong now."