Biden meets with executives from Citi, United Airlines & others

President Joe Biden on Tuesday met with a slate of executives from a variety of industries, some of which have been the targets of his regulatory agenda.

The guest list included United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, Citi CEO Jane Fraser, Evercore founder and senior chairman Roger Altman, Marriott International CEO Anthony Capuano, Flex CEO Revathi Advaithi, Bechtel Group CEO Brendan Bechtel, Corning CEO Wendell Weeks and former Xerox CEO Ursula Burns, who is currently chairwoman of consulting firm Teneo, according to a White House official.

Biden was joined by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, National Economic Adviser Lael Brainard, Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and several other cabinet members, the official added.

Biden and the executives discussed the president’s investment agenda, international alliances and how to create “strong and stable conditions for businesses and workers,” according to a White House summary of the meeting.

It is not the first time the president has called a huddle with business executives, as both the White House and the private sector have had to navigate the economy’s wobbly post-pandemic recovery over the past several years. In October, Biden hosted another group of top executives.

Tuesday’s meeting was an opportunity for Biden to face executives in some of the same industries that he has been trying to crack down on during his administration.

Months into his first term, Biden issued an executive order that laid out an aggressive antitrust approach to target big business in industries like airlines, banking, cable, grocery, pharmaceuticals and tech.

The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice’s antitrust division have been at the forefront of carrying out that agenda with a slew of lawsuits against proposed mergers and other regulatory action.

And as part of a broader siege against what Biden calls “junk fees,” the White House has issued rules prohibiting certain fees from airlines and credit card companies.

Beyond policy, Biden has turned up his rhetoric against corporations, especially to blame them for sticky inflation and other lingering economic woes that have dimmed consumers’ outlook on the economy’s recovery.

“Any corporation that has not brought their prices back down, even as inflation has come down, even as the supply chains have been rebuilt, it’s time to stop the price gouging,” Biden said in November. “Give the American consumer a break.”