Amazon Hires Senior Senate Aide, Boosting Efforts to Stymie New Tech Antitrust Bill

Anna Edgerton and Leah Nylen, Bloomberg News

The Amazon Lab126, a research and development company owned by Amazon.com, headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, U.S., on Wednesday, April 21, 2021. Silicon Valley has the lowest office vacancy rate in the U.S., even as technology companies embrace remote work. , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc. hired a senior Republican congressional aide, bolstering its efforts to stymie a new antitrust bill aimed at US technology companies, according to two people familiar with the hire.

Judd Smith was the Senate Judiciary Committee’s counsel as the panel wrote and approved a bill that would restrict the way Amazon can offer products to consumers and interact with its competitors. His move to Amazon, the e-commerce giant that has been vilified by lawmakers for its market dominance, will play into efforts to ensure that the legislation doesn’t receive a vote in the full Senate. By hiring him, Amazon is bringing in a powerful voice on the top issues facing the committee.

While Smith helped negotiate changes to the legislation as he worked with Republican offices to push the bill forward, according to two other people familiar with his work, it isn’t clear what influence he’ll have as part of Amazon’s team.

The American Innovation and Choice Online Act would bar major online platforms like Amazon, Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc., and Apple Inc. from giving advantages to their own products over those of rivals. The bill’s sponsors and its advocates had pushed Senate leadership to take up the measure before lawmakers leave for a four-week summer break.

Smith will join the public policy team with Amazon Web Services to help lobby Republicans, said two of the people. Both asked not to be identified discussing an internal decision.

Amazon and Smith didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar has led efforts to get the bill on the Senate floor, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Senate won’t have time to take it up this week.