President Joe Biden's Secretary of State Antony Blinken worked for Pine Island Capital Partners and the Defense Secretary nominee could come from the same private equity underwriter (PEU). Two candidates, Michele Flourney and General Lloyd Austin have been mentioned for the top civilian defense slot.
Pine Island Capital Partners promotes the company as being deeply connected. Representing the Red Team are former Senators Saxby Chambliss and Don Nickles, while the Blues have former House leader Dick Gephardt and former Senators Tom Daschle and Byron Dorgan.
How did a D.C. based private equity firm with only two affiliates, InVeris and Precinmac, attract such talent? Former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain could shed light on the answer.
FT wrote about Thain after the 2008 financial crisis:
John Thain is giving us a tour of what is soon to become America’s most infamous office, with its $87,000 rug, $68,000 sideboard, $28,000 curtains – all part of a $1.2m redecoration scheme. This was early December, a little under two months before Thain would be fired in the same room by his new boss, Ken Lewis, chief executive of Bank of America.
Thain went on to lead CIT out of bankruptcy and currently sits on the boards of Uber and Deutsche Bank.
Biden's appointment of multiple cabinet members from one PEU would be head scratching. Then again, politicians Red and Blue love PEU, even if they have a lackluster SPAC.
Update 11-29-20: NYT wrote a piece citing concerns about some Biden cabinet nominees. PEUReport isn't alone in questioning how all this talent landed at one relatively small PEU. Politico also did a piece on this. Recall Obama health reformer continued to profit from her PEU work as a public servant in the White House.
Update 5-26-22: Pine Island Capital's Tom Daschle came up with the idea to have Senators Bernie Sanders and Lindsey Graham debate. The greed and leverage boys are happy for the public to be divided as they loot the federal treasury. Does the debate winner get a free chauffeur and the use of a limousine? It's a PEU perk.
