Susan Molinari, Google’s former vice president of public policy, is scheduled to speak at the Democratic National Convention on Monday as one of four “Republicans” endorsing Joe Biden’s presidency.
Molinari, a former U.S. representative for New York, first came to Google in 2012 to head their lobbying office in Washington, D.C. In 2018, Molinari resigned from that position and “shifted to an advisory role at the Alphabet Inc. company at the end of 2018” due to restructuring and the hiring of new global policy chief Karan Bhatia and her replacement, Mark Isakowitz, former chief of staff to Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio).
During Molinari’s time at Google, the Federal Trade Commission investigated Google for antitrust violations in 2013, but did not take any action. According to federal disclosures, Molinari lobbied for companies such as “Microsoft Corp., Verizon Communications, Gilead Science Inc.,” and others before she joined Google.
Molinari left her position at Google in late 2019 to join APCO Worldwide’s International Advisory Council as skepticism over Google’s policies on censorship and privacy began to rise. She joined the council of “former elected officials, business leaders academics and journalists as a corporate communication strategy adviser.”
“I am honored to join such a distinguished group of recognized global leaders in the IAC,” Molinari said in a statement.
Google appeared before Congress at the end of July to testify about antitrust violations and censorship. In the hearing, Google admitted to “trying to monopolize the ad market.”
