Thread by @nick_clevelands

The Biden administration's Pentagon team has been moving to lucrative defense industry roles at breakneck speed. So where have they landed?

Let's take a quick stroll through the revolving door....🧵

1) Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ---> Clarion Strategies

After declaring he had "no intent to be a lobbyist" during his confirmation hearing, Austin just founded a new strategic advisory firm

Austin's new firm is called "Clarion Strategies" which is a nod to its aim to help clients navigate "advancements in defense technology like AI and unmanned systems."

In other words, the new firm is very much hoping to court clients from the defense industry.

Austin is joined by a number of other top DoD officials:

2) Assistant Secretary for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs at the Pentagon Ely Ratner ---> Clarion Strategies

3) Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs at the Pentagon Rheanne Wirkkala ---> Clarion Strategies

4) Middle East advisor Brett McGurk ---> Lux Capital

Only a few weeks after leaving the Biden administration, McGurk accepted a position as a Venture Partner at Lux Capital, a venture capital firm invested in defense technology companies such as Anduril

McGurk is also simultaneously a CNN Global Affairs Analyst, and was all over CNN the last few weeks making the case for bombing Iran without disclosing that he works for an investor in Pentagon contractors

5) Undersecretary of the Army Gabe Camarillo ---> KBR

Camarillo accepted a job as Senior VP of Defense Technology Solutions at KBR and is now overseeing a $2 billion budget to support "land, sea, air and cyberspace defense capabilities" for the Army contractor

6) Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante ---> Aerospace Corporation

7) Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration Frank Calvelli ---> Also Aerospace Corporation

8) Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu ---> Areté

Just last week, Shyu joined the board of Areté, a cyberdefense firm that currently holds contracts with the Navy and the Defense Intelligence Agency.

9) Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defense Derek Chollet ---> JPMorgan Chase

Less than two months after leaving office, Chollet was tapped to lead JPMorgan Chase's new Center for Geopolitics.

The Center's inaugural report, signed by Chollet, argued for the creation of multi-year procurement packages for HIMARS and PAC-3 interceptor missiles. These weapons are are built by Lockheed Martin, which enjoys a lending agreement with the bank worth $3.5 billion.

10) DoD Capitol Hill liason for acquistion affairs Faiq Raza ---> Roosevelt Group

Raza is now a senior adviser to The Roosevelt Group, a consulting firm that currently has nine clients in the defense sector, including Airbus and RTX (formerly known as Raytheon).

11) Army Acquisition Chief Doug Bush ---> DRB Strategies

After four years of leading Army acquisitions, Bush founded DRB Stragies, a new firm that deals in government contracting, acquisitions, and “legislative strategies for companies focused on national security.”

12) DoD Deputy Comptroller for Budget and Appropriations Affairs Blake Souter ---> AeroVironment

According to his Linkedin, Souter joined Pentagon contractor AeroVironment pretty much right as the Biden administration ended.

Souter's role is to help lead “engagement with the Executive Branch and Congress, strengthening partnerships that drive innovation and accelerate deployment of affordable autonomous systems.”

Hopefully "engagement" here does not mean lobbying.

13) Gen. John J Raymond ----> Impulse Space, Axiom Space, Cerberus Capital Management

14) Gen. James C. McConville ---> drone manufacturer Edge Autonomy, AE Industrial Partners

15) Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley ---> JPMorgan Chase

Milley joined JPMorgan Chase as a senior advisor.

The list goes on and on. Read more from me and @AshleyGate333 on what Biden's Pentagon team is up to now:
responsiblestatecraft.org/biden-official…

@AshleyGate333 Have received a lot of great tips so let’s just keep this thread going.

16) Defense Department deputy undersecretary Sasha Baker —-> OpenAI

Baker is now the head of OpenAI’s national security policy as the company picks up more defense contracts

@AshleyGate333 17) State Dept spokesperson Vedant Patel —-> SKDK

in June, Patel accepted a position as senior vice president at SKDK, a public affairs and consulting firm that is registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act to represent Israel.