Last month, the White House was accused of launching “a frontal assault against free enterprise and the Chamber of Commerce,” by an executive of the business lobby.
It’s true that the White house signaled its intention to play hardball with the Chamber. But it’s not like the group has been shut out from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue since Obama took office.
Chamber CEO Tom J. Donohue has visited Obama’s White House eight* — yes, eight — times, according to visitor logs released this afternoon. And he wasn’t talking to low-level aides. Two of the meetings were with the POTUS himself, two with his close confidante Valerie Jarrett, and two with top economic adviser Larry Summers.
The White House and the Chamber may be somewhat on the outs right now. But over the last year, the business lobby has suffered from a lack of access.
* Late Update: The Huffington Post confirms with a White House aide that Donohue in fact visited ten times. There were eight listings in the records for “Thomas J. Donohue,” so we originally went with that number to be safe.