New Bush Aide Has Extensive Corporate Lobbying Ties

[kurth]

New Bush Aide Has Extensive Corporate Lobbying Ties
June 13, 2007: 06:41 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP)--The line between lobbying the federal government and running it just got blurrier.

A new high-ranking adviser to President George W. Bush will enter the White House with recent lobbying ties to dozens of companies seeking the federal government's help on everything from proposed acquisitions to patent disputes.

Ed Gillespie, named Wednesday as the next White House counselor, is a partner in Quinn Gillespie & Associates LLC, a lobbying firm whose clients include: Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI), which needs antitrust approval to acquire a rival; Qualcomm (QCOM), which wants Bush to veto a federal agency's ban on imported cell phones made with its chips; and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a trade group trying to limit drug industry regulation.

Consumer advocates lamented Bush's decision to put Gillespie in his inner circle, fearing that the interests of average citizens would be trumped by those of corporate America.

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