Top Republican Silicon Valley critic Ken Buck flagged the number of Congress members’ relatives working for Big Tech companies as a sign of the industry’s excess influence over the Democratic Party.
Buck, who is likely to become the chairman of the Judiciary Committee antitrust panel responsible for policies affecting the tech sector, said that Democratic leaders failed to pass substantive bills affecting Big Tech, while also having children work for the companies that the legislation would have regulated.
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“What’s unusual is a number of children of members who are employed by these companies,” Buck said at a Heritage event on Wednesday promoting his upcoming book Crushed: Big Tech’s War on Free Speech. “That’s what blows you away.”
He noted that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s daughters work for tech companies: Jessica Schumer works as a registered lobbyist at Amazon, while Alison Schumer works as a product marketing manager at Meta. He also said that Rep. Zoe Lofgren’s (D-CA) daughter works on Google’s legal team on contract law.
Buck also noted former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s husband’s investments in Big Tech companies, which were scrutinized as Congress passed legislation to subsidize domestic semiconductor production.
Buck has pushed for several bills to restrict Big Tech’s power through antitrust, including several high-profile bipartisan measures meant to limit the market power of the biggest companies. This includes the House passage of the State Anti-Trust Enforcement Act in September. Buck has also called for Congress to stop receiving financial donations from Big Tech companies.
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While Buck called out Democrats for allowing their family to work at Big Tech firms, Republicans are also implicated. Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rob Portman (R-OH) have both had family members work at Google at some point in the past.
