Trump picks corporate lobbyist Robert Lighthizer to head U.S. Trade Representatives office

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Donald Trump picked corporate lawyer Robert Lighthizer to serve as the U.S. Trade Representative, responsible for the day-to-day negotiation of new trade agreements.

Friends of the Earth Senior Trade Analyst Bill Waren issued the following response: 

Trump’s selection of Robert Lighthizer, a corporate lawyer and Republican political operative, to serve as the U.S. Trade Representative is another example of the revolving door between corporate lobby shops on K Street and the White House staff. Nothing in Lighthizer’s background suggests that he has any concern about the environmental and climate havoc resulting from trade deals like the pending Trade in Services Agreement.  To the contrary, his clients include big oil, corporate agriculture, big pharma, and the insurance industry.

Lighthizer might be described as a paleo-conservative, in other words a throwback to another era. He is an admirer of the isolationist Robert A. Taft and the racist Jesse Helms. He will fit right in to the xenophobic culture of the Trump administration.

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Expert contact: Bill Waren, (202) 222-0747, [email protected]
Communications contact: Kate Colwell, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]