The high-profile hire comes as Amazon faces antitrust probes in Europe and Japan as well as recent allegations from US Senator Elizabeth Warren that the company, alongside fellow titans Google and Apple, is attempting to use its size to ‘snuff out’ smaller competitors. The founder and president of Bloom Strategic Counsel, Mr Bloom has a long and decorated career lobbying on behalf of large corporates like Microsoft, Aetna and Comcast in their efforts to pursue consolidation up against an increasingly merger-sceptical US Department of Justice. Amazon has been pushed to significantly expand its investment in lobbying over the last few years, with data from the Centre of Responsive Politics reporting that Amazon’s total lobbying investment grew from $4.9m in 2014 to $9.4m last year.   

Sources: Politico; Bloomberg BigLaw Business; Morning Consult