Vice President Kamala Harris’s senior policy advisor from her time as a California senator will move to a prominent lobbying firm.
Yasmin Rigney Nelson will become a partner at Bracewell LLP and a senior principal for their Policy Resolution Group, Axios reported Monday. She will advise clients on economic and tax policy.
Excited to announce that I will be joining Bracewell’s Policy Resolution Group as a Partner and Senior Principal this week! Excited for this next chapter and to continue advocating for effective policy!
— Yasmin R Nelson (@YasminRNelson) March 29, 2021
Founded in 1945 in Houston, Texas, as an energy-focused law firm, Bracewell hired many prominent Republicans and Bush administration alumni in the early 2000s, including Rudy Giuliani. The firm has offices in Texas, New York, Washington, D.C., London and Dubai.
Bracewell advises 66 federal lobbying organizations in the energy, construction and manufacturing sectors, according to Senate disclosure forms. Nelson’s connections with the Biden administration and Congress could prove valuable to Bracewell’s clients as Democrats promise new infrastructure spending. Nelson also worked for Democratic Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden. (RELATED: Transportation Sec. Buttigieg Says Mileage Tax Won’t Be Part Of Biden’s Infrastructure Bill)
The Biden administration has drawn criticism from some progressive groups for hiring many officials who spent their time out of government employed by corporate firms. Top officials, including national security advisor Jake Sullivan, press secretary Jen Psaki, and Domestic Policy Council chair Susan Rice, lobbied or sat on boards for tech firms like Microsoft and Facebook. Biden signed an executive order on his first day in office that bans political appointees from working for lobbying firms for two years after they leave his administration, although that ban does not apply to lower-level staffers.