Zients, who most just lately served as Biden’s coronavirus response czar, joined Fb’s board two months after the Cambridge Analytica scandal erupted. He then declined to hunt reelection in 2020 earlier than becoming a member of the administration.
With Zients now slated to tackle probably the most highly effective roles in Washington, critics on the left are re-upping their issues that he has been too cozy with company pursuits, citing his time at Fb as a primary instance.
Jeff Hauser, whose progressive advocacy group the Revolving Door Venture tracks federal picks, stated that “with [former adviser] Tim Wu leaving the White Home and Zients becoming a member of it,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg “can take vital solace from the shift in Biden’s personnel.”
Wu, a outstanding critic of the tech giants who has helped lead Biden’s antitrust agenda, left the White Home earlier this month. He was extensively seen as one of many prime allies inside the Biden administration for advocates pushing to rein in Silicon Valley behemoths.
