The White House Communications Director Can’t Talk About Crypto

The Biden administration’s communications chief has received strict orders to keep his distance from crypto and technology companies he has worked with.

President Joe Biden’s Communications Director, Ben LaBolt, may not interact with his previous crypto clients in any official capacity. LaBolt has undertaken communications duties for Uniswap and Andreessen Horowitz, a digital technology-focused venture capital firm, in the past.

Crypto Off Limits

This injunction appears consistent with those imposed on other high-ranking White House staff. President Biden’s staff must avoid conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts of interest when dealing with businesses that they have previously worked for or with. Hence, for LaBolt, working with crypto clients, even trusted ones with entrenched relationships, is off limits.

According to an ethics disclosure released on Friday, LaBolt has a number of interests in the tech sector. The senior White House staffer also owns shares in Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft. Although, according to the disclosure, each amounts to less than $1,000.

Ben LaBolt became Communications Director in February. He replaced Kate Bedingfield, who had been in the role since President Biden’s inauguration.

His appointment to President Biden’s staff came at a crucial time for the crypto industry. The US Government, and especially the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is under fire for its approach to crypto regulation. Time will tell to what degree LaBolt’s experience in the sector has influenced the White House’s approach to digital assets. However, communications staff rarely have input on policy. 

One of the world’s biggest exchanges, Coinbase, has openly discussed moving to the UK because of the US’s recent turn against crypto.

LaBolt Is An Obama Alumnus

LaBolt has worked closely with the Biden administration, advising on communications for Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation and during the transition period. He previously served as press secretary for Obama’s re-election campaign and as a White House assistant press secretary. LaBolt also served as Communications Director for Rahm Emanuel, the former Mayor of Chicago.

He worked with Uniswap and others after his departure from the Obama White House. The digital marketing firm Bully Pulpit Interactive bought his communications business, the Incite Agency, in 2016.