Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2019-11-25)

◼ TECHNOLOGY Bloomberg Businessweek November 25, 2019

22

thecompany’sBeltwayrelationshipsaren’twhat

theywerewhenCarneytookoverthepolicyshop

in2015,aftermorethanthreeyearsasPresident

BarackObama’ssecondWhiteHousepresssec-

retary.Carneywasfarfromthefirstgovernment

officialtodecampfora prominentpositioninthe

techindustry.Hisdeputy,Huseman,hadserved

asanattorneyfortheFederalTradeCommission

whenGeorgeW.Bushwaspresident.Duringthose

timestherewasa largelyfavorablebipartisanview

ofBigTech,andthegovernmentrarelychallenged

leadingcompaniesastheysnappeduprivalsand

expandedtheirfootprints.

Ata momentwhenAmazon’sbiggestconcern

seemedtobewhetherit wouldbeallowedtofly

deliverydronesalloverU.S.cities,hiringCarney

wasa signthatthecompanywasgettingserious

aboutlobbying.YetbytheendofCarney’sfirstyear

there,Bezos’personalfeudwithTrump,thena

long-shotcandidatefortheRepublicanpresiden-

tialnomination,hadintensified.Morerecently,

Amazon’spolicyregardingTrumphasbeento

ignorehisTwitteractivitywheneverpossiblewhile

workingtominimizefurtherdiscordwiththeWhite

House,saysa personfamiliarwiththematter.

Onmanymajorquestions,that’sworkedpretty

well.TheFTCdidn’tobjecttoAmazon’s$13bil-

lionacquisitionofWholeFoodsMarketInc.in

2017.Foodstampscannowbespentongrocery

deliveryservicessuchasAmazonFresh.Andthe

corporatetaxcutsinTrump’s 2017 taxlawgreatly

benefitedAmazon.ThisMay,Huseman,onbehalf

oftheInternetAssociation,oneofSiliconValley’s

primarytradegroups,presentedIvankaTrump

withtheInternetFreedomAward,dedicatedto

recognitionforpublicservice.

Still,Trump’spublichostilitytowardBezos

mightwellhavebeena factorinAmazon’sloss

ofthe$10billion contract for the Joint Enterprise

Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI. (Yes, as in Star

Wars.) While the Pentagon has denied that such

a grudgeplayeda roleinitsdecisionandsaidits

procurementdepartmentis insulatedfrompolitics,

Trumplastsummerdirectedhisthen-secretary

of defense, Jim Mattis, to “screw Amazon” out of

the JEDI contract, according to Holding the Line:

Inside Trump’s Pentagon with Secretary Mattis, a

book by the secretary’s former speechwriter, Guy

Snodgrass, published in late October. And the pres-

ident doesn’t exactly have a sterling track record

of separating government matters from personal

ones, as several career civil servants have been tes-

tifying in impeachment hearings on Capitol Hill.

An Amazon spokesman says the procurement

process was clearly tainted by animus. Amazon’s

protest, to be filed with the U.S. Court of Federal

Claims, is expected to hold up implementation

of Microsoft’s cloud systems, unless the Defense

Department can make a compelling national secu-

rity case to keep things moving. As the company

awaits further decisions by the court, its execu-

tives aren’t making much of an effort to avoid the

appearance of bias, either. Carney was recently a

named co-host at a fundraiser for Democratic pres-

idential candidate Joe Biden, though the Amazon

spokesman didn’t attend the event. On Nov. 15,

Amazon’s general counsel, David Zapolsky, hosted

his own Biden fundraiser. �Eric Newcomer and

SpencerSoper,withNaomiNix

Viral‘SmartBombs’

Vs.theSuperbugs

● Drugmakersareinvestingin phagetherapyas

a possibleanswertoantibioticresistance

THE BOTTOM LINE Amazon has done well in the Trump era but

has struggled this year to win some key political battles, where its

name and CEO have been liabilities.

Joel Grimwood was dying. A bacterial slime

impervioustoantibioticswasgrowingona life-

sustaining heart implant, infecting his sternum, poi-

soning his blood, and slowly consuming his chest

tissue. His implanted heart pump was meant to be a

short-term solution while he waited for a heart trans-

plant but, once it was infected, it couldn’t be safely

removed. The operation would risk pushing the

maelstrom of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria more

directly into his system, which could kill him much

faster. Four hospitals had denied Grimwood a trans-

plant because of the infection, which had required

some 40 surgical scrapings over three years and left

himwitha Keylime-sizeopenwoundinhischest.

Finallyhisphysiciansoptedfora differentstrategy:

turningbacteria-eating viruses loose inside of him.

Just a week after the daily treatments began last

year, Grimwood says, he felt better and more ener-

getic, and the staph seemed to be on the defen-

sive. “It was like it ate the bacteria,” he says of the