Jeff Ricchetti, the brother of senior White House official Steve Ricchetti, has been lobbying for the drug industry's top trade group, records show.
Why it matters: Ricchetti has pledged not to lobby the West Wing, but his newly disclosed deal with the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a top K Street spender, shows corporate America still sees significant value in his services.
- Lobbying revenue for Ricchetti Inc., Jeff's firm, more than quadrupled over the past two years as it signed a number of blue-chip clients.
- He's one of a number of Biden-connected lobbyists seeing huge growth under unified Democratic control in D.C., Politico reported on Wednesday.
The details: Ricchetti has been lobbying for PhRMA since Jan. 1, according to a disclosure filing with congressional ethics officials on Wednesday.
- He's has been working on "issues related to pharmaceutical industry, generally."
- The firm got $60,000 for that work in the first three months of the year, but didn't report contacting any federal agencies or members of Congress.
- Its client roster includes a number of other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, disclosure records show.
Between the lines: Steve Ricchetti is a counselor to President Biden, and has been instrumental to the White House's legislative efforts.
- Biden has renewed a push this year to let Medicare negotiate drug prices, a measure strongly opposed by the pharmaceutical industry.
- The White House declined to comment.
What they're saying: "While we generally don’t comment on specific firms," a PhRMA spokesperson told Axios, "we work with a diverse group of advocacy partners to help promote policies that support innovation and affordable access to life-saving medicines.”