Consultancy Linked to Biden Nominees Scrubs Middle East Ops From Site

A consulting firm linked to incoming Biden officials removed references to its foreign dealings in the closing weeks of the election.

Both Jake Sullivan, President-elect Joe Biden's incoming national security adviser, and Denis McDonough, Biden's pick to run the Department of Veterans Affairs, have served as partners at Macro Advisory Partners, a consulting firm that says it helps clients manage geopolitical risk.

Until early November, the firm advertised its work helping a financial services company expand into the Middle East, according to archived versions of the website. The firm said it helped its clients manage the "geopolitical and economic volatility" in Middle Eastern markets by drawing on the extensive policy expertise of Macro Advisory Partners employees.

"The intersection of geopolitics, policy and politics is defining the long-term prospects for financial services in the Middle East," the website said in now-deleted comments. "MAP's partner-led team includes professionals with decades of experience analysing Middle Eastern markets, politics and security."

Tom Anderson, a director at the National Legal and Policy Center, a government watchdog group, said the move raises questions about the work the Biden duo conducted and whether they stand to profit from the new administration's policy in the region.

"When politicians or officials are caught trying to hide something—there is a reason for their actions. Usually, they see a bigger reward than the risks associated with scrubbing," Anderson said. "Hiding motivations for seeking positions should raise red flags for oversight professionals, and the media to expose potential conflicts of interest."

The American Prospect reported in July that Sullivan's clients included ridesharing giant Uber. He also "used [the] knowledge he acquired from negotiating the Iran deal in the Obama administration to help companies profit from the opening of the Iranian economy," the magazine reported.