J. Scott Applewhite/AP
On Monday, Hillary Clinton came out in support of legislation seeking to end the so-called “golden parachute” payouts that traditionally benefit private sector executives who take on jobs within the federal government—a practice long criticized by Wall Street reformers such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
“The American people need to be able to trust that every single person in Washington—from the President of the United States all the way down to agency employees—is putting the interests of the people first,” Clinton wrote in an blog post for the Huffington Post, published Monday. “We want to do more to make sure that happens.”
Clinton’s backing of the the Financial Services Conflict of Interest Act comes after a report in the Intercept last month that revealed two senior-level State Department officials during her time as secretary, Thomas Nides and Robert Hormats, had received hefty payments from Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs respectively after taking on jobs with the State Department.
In July, Warren issued a challenge to all presidential candidates to support the legislation, calling it “a bill any presidential candidate should be able to cheer for.”
?”We have a presidential election coming up,” she told a crowd in Phoenix. “I think anyone running for that job—anyone who wants the power to make every key economic appointment and nomination across the federal government—should say loud and clear that they agree: we don’t run this country for Wall Street and mega corporations. We run it for people.”
Clinton’s announcement on Monday shows she is listening closely to what Warren has to say.
Since announcing her second run for president, the former secretary of state has embraced a number of policies close to Warren’s heart, specifically on Wall Street reform. Last December, Clinton reportedly met privately with Warren to discuss her policy ideas. News of the conversation signaled Clinton could be ready to take a more populist approach to her campaign for the White House.
