Politics

Obama’s bundlers occupy dozens of key positions

Chris Palko Contributor
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Barack Obama has long decried the corrupting influence of money in politics. As a candidate, he ran against lobbyists and the pay-for-play culture of Washington. As president, he has continued to hammer the theme, most recently in his impassioned attacks on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v Federal Election Commission.

Given this, it’s a little surprising to learn that Obama has not only embraced the sordid money-driven culture of DC, but actually outdone his predecessors. An analysis by the American Foreign Service Association, for example, found that Obama has stuffed the diplomatic corps with more political appointees (i.e., cronies) than any president in the past 40 years. Only a year into the administration, close of half of the president’s biggest donors already have federal jobs.

Below is a list of Obama campaign bundlers and the taxpayer-funded positions they’ve received:

The Big Changers’ Club ($500,000+)

Avant, Nicole (Los Angeles, CA)
Position: Ambassador to the Bahamas

Barzun, Matthew (Louisville, KY)
Position: Ambassador to Sweden

Beyer, Don (Alexandria, VA)
Position: Nominated to Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein

Bleich, Jeff (Piedmont, CA)
Position: Ambassador to Australia

Danzig, Richard (Washington, DC)
Position: Member, Defense Policy Board

Donahoe, Eileen Chamberlain (Washington, DC)
Position: Nominated to Ambassador to UN Human Rights Council

Eacho, William (Bethesda, MD)
Position: Ambassador to Austria

Forester, Christine (San Diego, CA)
Position: Member, Presidential Committee on the Arts and Humanities

Genachowski, Julius (Washington, DC)
Position: FCC Chairman

Gips, Don (Boulder, CO)
Position: Ambassador to South Africa

Gutman, Howard (Washington, DC)
Position: Ambassador to Belgium

Harris, Scott (Washington, DC)
Position: General Counsel, Department of Energy

Katz, Allan (Tallahassee, FL)
Position: Nominated to Ambassador to Portugal

Kennard, William (Washington, DC)
Position: Ambassador to the European Union

Oreck, Bruce (Boulder, CO)
Position: Nominated to Ambassador to Finland

Overton, Spencer (Chevy Chase, MD)
Position: Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Policy

Perrelli, Tom (Arlington, VA)
Position: Assistant Attorney General

Rivkin, Charlie (Los Angeles, CA)
Position: Ambassador to France and Monaco

Roos, John (Hillsborough, CA)
Position: Ambassador to Japan

Sanchez, Frank (Tampa, FL)
Position: Undersecretary of International Trade

Solomont, Alan (Boston, MA)
Position: Ambassador to Spain

Spinner, Steve (Menlo Park, CA)
Position: Loan Programs Advisor, Department of Energy

Stroum, Cynthia (Seattle, WA)
Position: Ambassador to Luxembourg

West, Tony (Oakland, CA)
Position: Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division

The Yes We Can Crew ($200,000+)

Arriola, Ricky (Miami, FL)
Position: Member, Presidential Committee on the Arts and Humanities

Chun, Marisa (San Francisco, CA)
Position: Deputy Associate Attorney General

Cohen, Dick (Minneapolis, MN)
Position: Member, Presidential Committee on the Arts and Humanities

Craig, Greg (Washington, DC)
Position: Former White House Counsel

Eisen, Norm (Washington, DC)
Position: Special Counsel to the President for Ethics and Government Reform

Froman, Michael (New York, NY)
Position: Deputy National Security Advisor for International and Economic Affairs

Holtzmann, Max (Miami Beach, FL)
Position: Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Agriculture

Hudson, James (Washington, DC)
Position: Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Johnson, Jeh (Montclair, NJ)
Position: General Counsel, Department of Defense

Kaplan, Sam (Minneapolis, MN)
Position: Ambassador to Morocco

Lamb-Hale, Nicole (Detroit, MI)
Position: Deputy General Counsel, Department of Commerce

Levi, John (Chicago, IL)
Position: Board Member, Legal Services Corporation

Lion, Margo (New York, NY)
Position: Co-chair, Presidential Committee on the Arts and Humanities

Moelis, Cindy (Chicago, IL)
Position: Director, Commission on White House Fellows

Orrick, William (San Francisco, CA)
Position: Counselor to the Assistant Attorney General to the Civil Rights Division

Overmann, Lynn (Miami, FL)
Position: Senior Advisor, Office of the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs

Phillips, John (Washington, DC)
Position: Chairman, Commission on White House Fellowships

Rediker, Doug (Washington, DC)
Position: Nominated to Alternate Executive Director, IMF

Rivkin, Bob (Chicago, IL)
Position: General Counsel, Department of Transportation

Rogers, Desiree (Chicago, IL)
Position: White House Social Secretary

Sedgwick, Tod (Washington, DC)
Position: Ambassador to Slovakia

Stetson, Jane (Norwich, CT)
Position: DNC National Finance Chair

Susman, Lou (Chicago, IL)
Position: Ambassador to the Court of St. James (United Kingdom)

Sussman, Bob (Washington, DC)
Position: Senior Policy Counsel, Environmental Protection Agency

Tchen, Tina (Chicago, IL)
Position: White House Director for Public Engagement

Welters, Beatrice (McLean, VA)
Position: Nominated to Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago

White, Barry (Newton Centre, MA)
Position: Ambassador to Norway

Better Believe It Squad ($100,000 Club):

Adelman, David (Atlanta, GA)
Position: Nominated to Ambassador to Singapore

Bansal, Preeta (New York, NY)
Position: General Counsel, OMB

Fulton, Laurie (Alexandria, VA)
Position: Nominated to Ambassador to Denmark

Goldring, Fred (Los Angeles, CA)
Position: Member, Presidential Committee on the Arts and Humanities

Jarrett, Valerie (Chicago, IL)
Position: Senior advisor to the President

Jennings, Kevin (New York, NY)
Position: Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools

Lazarus, Eddie (Los Angeles, CA)
Position: FCC Chief of Staff

Sapiro, Miriam (Washington, DC)
Position: Deputy US Trade Representative

Schwartz, Eric (New York, NY)
Position: Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration

Thummalapally, Vinai (Colorado Springs, CO)
Position: Ambassador to Belize

Wise, Judy (Chicago, IL)
Position: Member, Commission on White House Fellowships

Team Hope ($50,000+):

Jacobson, David (Glencoe, IL)
Position: Ambassador to Canada

Kirk, Ron (Dallas, TX)
Position: US Trade Representative

Landesman, Rocco (New York, NY)
Position: Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts

Maxey, Ken (Los Angeles, CA)
Position: Deputy Political Director, DNC

Rice, Susan (Washington, DC)
Position: Ambassador to the United Nations

Salzman, Amelia (Bethesda, MD)
Position: Associate Director for Policy Outreach, Council on Environmental Quality

Yale, Matt (Chicago, IL)
Position: Deputy Chief of Staff, Secretary of Education