Chief of staff to new top Democrat on antitrust subcommittee lobbied for Apple, Amazon
UNITED STATES – FEBRUARY 28: Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., walks down the House steps after the last votes of the week on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Bill Clark | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
The chief of staff to the new top Democrat on the House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust lobbied on behalf of Amazon and Apple as recently as 2022, including on the very issues the ranking member will oversee in his new role, CNBC found based on public disclosures.
The background of California Democrat Lou Correa’s top staffer is likely to further upset progressives who supported efforts to reform the rules of the road around digital competition. René Muñoz has served as chief of staff to Correa since November 2022, according to Congress-tracking site LegiStorm.
Before that, Muñoz worked at the lobbying firm Federal Street Strategies beginning in May 2020, according to LinkedIn, where his clients included Amazon and Apple, along with other corporations. Earlier, he worked for other Democratic representatives in Congress.
In 2019, when the Democrats were in the majority, Cicilline spearheaded a major investigation into the competition practices of Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook, and hauled their CEOs before Congress before introducing a package of bills to limit their power. Correa voted against the legislation.
Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., later became the top Republican on the subcommittee and was a significant ally to Cicilline in championing the tech antitrust bills. However, once Republicans took control of the House, he was passed over to lead the committee in favor of libertarian Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.
The tech industry is likely to cheer the shift from antitrust reform advocates like Cicilline and Buck as a reprieve from years of fighting against bills they saw as overly broad or having undue consequences on consumer privacy.
Demand Progress Communications Director Maria Langholz called Correa’s elevation to the role “a profound disappointment,” in a statement after his selection was announced, citing his opposition to a package of tech antitrust bills championed by former subcommittee Chair David Cicilline, D-R.I., who recently left Congress and vacated the spot.
Langholz added that it’s “embarrassing that House Democrats failed to step up and fill the void that was left by Rep. Cicilline’s departure from the subcommittee.”
“The Congressman’s Chief of Staff has spent nearly two decades in public service, most of which being spent in the halls of Congress,” a Correa spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC on which Muñoz was copied.
“He’s fought tirelessly to serve elected representatives from every corner of the country in their missions to uplift their constituents, and better the lives of every working family. It’s because of that unwavering commitment and history of service that Congressman Correa brought him aboard his team —to work by his side in his fight for the hard-working taxpayers he represents right here in Orange County.”
What Muñoz lobbied on
Public lobbying disclosures show that as recently as 2022, Muñoz lobbied Congress on the very issue areas which Correa is now overseeing.
Correa’s ability to influence the agenda while in the minority is limited, but ranking members can often serve an important role in pushing back on the majority or in messaging to industry and agencies. Some fear that should the Democrats take back the House, it will now be harder to replace Correa with a more reform-minded Democrat.
The disclosures do not indicate which specific bills Muñoz lobbied on. However, in filings across multiple quarters, he is listed as one of three lobbyists for Federal Street Strategies who worked on issue areas related to several of the bills that passed through the House Judiciary Committee while Cicilline led the antitrust subcommittee.
For example, in the second and third quarters of 2021, Muñoz is listed as one of three lobbyists who engaged with Congress on behalf of Apple in issue areas related to the six bills that made up Cicilline’s cornerstone package on tech antitrust. That includes the period right around the time that package passed through the House Judiciary Committee in June 2021.
Lobbying disclosures by Federal Street indicate that Muñoz was similarly one of three lobbyists who engaged on behalf of Amazon on issue areas related to those bills during the same period.
Among the bills in the package were the Ending Platform Monopolies Act, which could lead to a breakup of dominant online platforms by prohibiting them from owning business lines that present a conflict of interest. They also included the American Choice and Innovation Online Act, which would prohibit top platforms from favoring their own products over rivals’ in their marketplaces or discriminating against competitors. It was the precursor to a Senate version of the bill that gained steam last year by passing out of the Judiciary Committee in that chamber. But it ultimately failed to reach the floor after significant tech lobbying.
Again, it’s unclear from the filing which exact bills Muñoz lobbied on.
The tech industry and its trade groups have spent millions on lobbying, including against antitrust bills that would restrict key elements of their business models. Apple notably ramped up its overall lobbying spending in 2022, reaching $9.4 million, a 44% increase compared to the prior year. Its fourth quarter filing showed it lobbied on antitrust bills as well as online privacy issues, taxes, semiconductor policy and more.
Amazon spent the most of the tech giants in 2022, coming in at $19.7 million for the year. Amazon also lobbied on tech antitrust as well as issues around cloud computing and counterfeit goods.
Technology
Amazon launches second batch of Kuiper internet satellites, taking on Elon Musk’s Starlink
An Atlas V rocket of United Launch Alliance (ULA) lifts off from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on June 23, 2025.
Gregg Newton | Afp | Getty Images
Amazon‘s second batch of Kuiper internet satellites reached low Earth orbit on Monday, adding to its plans for a massive constellation and ramping up competition with SpaceX’s Starlink.
A United Launch Alliance rocket carrying 27 Kuiper satellites lifted off from a launchpad at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 6:54 a.m. ET, according to a livestream.
“We have ignition and lift off of United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet constellation, continuing a new chapter in low Earth orbit satellite connectivity,” Ben Chilton, an ordnance engineer at ULA, said on the livestream following the launch.
Monday’s mission was rescheduled twice, owing to inclement weather and a problem with the rocket booster.
Six years ago, Amazon unveiled its plans to build a constellation of internet-beaming satellites in low Earth orbit, called Project Kuiper. The service will compete directly with Elon Musk’s Starlink, which currently dominates the market and has 8,000 satellites in orbit.
Amazon in April successfully sent up 27 Kuiper internet satellites into low Earth orbit, a region of space that’s within 1,200 miles of the Earth’s surface.
The 54 craft currently in orbit are the start of Amazon’s planned constellation of 3,236 satellites. The company has to meet a Federal Communications Commission deadline to launch half of its total constellation, or 1,618 satellites, by July 2026.
The company has booked more than 80 launches with several providers, including rival SpaceX, to deliver Kuiper its satellites into orbit.
WATCH: Amazon Web Services CEO: Lots of opportunity to expand infrastructure globally
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews following a visit to North Carolina, in Maryland, U.S., June 10, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, Truth+, and the fintech platform Truth.Fi, said Monday its board has approved a stock buyback of up to $400 million.
Trump Media stock rose about 3% on the news premarket.
The Florida-based company, which trades under the ticker DJT on both Nasdaq and NYSE Texas, said the buyback could include both common stock and warrants, executed through open market transactions. All repurchased shares would be retired.
“Since Trump Media now has approximately $3 billion on its balance sheet, we have the flexibility to take actions like this which support strong shareholder returns, as we continue exploring further strategic opportunities,” said CEO Devin Nunes in a release announcing the move.
President Donald Trump, who indirectly owns more than 114 million shares of the company through a revocable trust, remains the largest shareholder.
The announcement follows Trump Media’s $2.5 billion raise last month from institutional investors — one of the largest bitcoin treasury plays by a public company. The company said it would use those funds, which include $1.5 billion in equity and $1 billion in convertible notes, to buy bitcoin, with custody provided by Anchorage Digital and Crypto.com.
Calling bitcoin a “crown jewel,” Nunes said the move was designed to defend the company against what he described as “discrimination by financial institutions” against conservative businesses. The funds will also support the launch of Trump-branded exchange-traded funds and other crypto products later this year, pending regulatory approval.
Trump Media said the buyback will be funded independently and will not affect the capital already earmarked for its bitcoin treasury initiative.
In February, Trump Media reported a $400.9 million net loss for the full year on just $3.6 million in annual revenue. The company cited legal fees and a revised advertising revenue-sharing agreement as contributing factors.
Despite the losses, Trump Media said it ended the year with $776.8 million in cash and short-term investments.
The company, which went public via special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, last year, now trades with a market capitalization of around $4.9 billion.
The stock nearly doubled in 2024 as Trump won the U.S. presidential election in November. As of Friday’s close, the stock was down nearly 48% this year.
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