Campaign

NYT editorial board calls on Buttigieg to disclose details of work at consulting firm

by Rachel Frazin - 12/05/19 7:06 PM ET

The New York Times’s editorial board is calling on presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg to disclose more information during his time at consulting firm McKinsey & Company, as the mayor sees momentum building for his campaign, and the firm faces scrutiny.

The board wrote in an op-ed published Thursday that while Buttigieg has said he is bound by a nondisclosure agreement, he still owes voters “a more complete account of his time at the company.”

“In Mr. Buttigieg’s case, the most straightforward solution is for McKinsey to release him from his vows of silence — or at least to substitute a significantly more permissive agreement,” the opinion article stated.

“The obligation to provide more information, however, ultimately falls on Mr. Buttigieg. He must find a way to give voters a more complete accounting of his time at the company,” it continued.

Buttigieg spokesperson Sean Savett told The Hill in an email that they have “asked McKinsey to be released from the NDA in full, and we have asked McKinsey if we can release a list of clients.”

“To date, they have not agreed. We will continue to ask and are eager to share more about his work soon,” Savett added.

The Hill has reached out to McKinsey for comment.

The Times and ProPublica reported this week that McKinsey worked with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and that the company’s consultants proposed cutting spending on food and medical care for migrants.

McKinsey said in a statement that it “did not recommend a reduction in the quality of food or healthcare for detainees” and said that the article “fundamentally misrepresents McKinsey’s work.”

Buttigieg has seen a surge in the polls in recent weeks and polling aggregation site RealClearPolitics says he is in first place in Iowa.

Updated Friday at 8:46 a.m.

Tags 2020 Democrats 2020 election Mckinsey Pete Buttigieg