Brother of Top Biden Aide Seeing Green as President Gives “Free Publicity” To Client
- February 1, 2023
General Motors has paid Jeff Ricchetti, the brother of longtime Biden confidant and White House counselor Steve Ricchetti, $460,000 to lobby Congress and the White House on electric vehicle tax incentives since the president took office. Biden was promoting his administration’s electric vehicle tax credit with Monday’s tweet, which featured a photo of the president behind the wheel of a GMC Hummer EV Pickup Edition 1.
Biden’s tweet is the latest return on General Motors’ investment in Jeff Ricchetti. In April 2021, Biden hosted a summit with General Motors CEO Mary Barra. He followed that up with a November 2021 visit to the company’s electric vehicle plant, where he first promoted the fully electric Hummer, which boosted reservations for the vehicle by sevenfold.
Some critics questioned why Biden keeps giving “free publicity” to the electric Hummer, noting that it is not even eligible for the $7,500 tax credit he cited in his tweet. Research also shows that the $108,700 truck produces more carbon dioxide than a typical gas-powered sedan.
“I’m not sure you could find a situation more emblematic of how the Swamp in D.C. works,” Protect the Public’s Trust director Michael Chamberlain told the Free Beacon.