Amazon

Amazon is the second-largest tech lobbyist in Washington at $17.9 million in 2024, a figure that reflects the extraordinary breadth of federal policy affecting its business. With $575 billion in annual revenue, 1.5 million employees, and operations spanning e-commerce, cloud computing, logistics, entertainment, healthcare, and grocery, Amazon is touched by virtually every regulatory domain — antitrust, labor, trade, tax, defense, healthcare, and technology policy. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the company's most critical government relationship. With over $15 billion in cumulative federal contracts, AWS is the backbone of American government cloud infrastructure. The NSA's $2 billion cloud contract, a share of the DoD's $9 billion Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) contract, and GovCloud services across dozens of federal agencies make Amazon a systemically important government technology provider. When AWS goes down, parts of the government stop functioning. This dependency gives Amazon leverage that transcends traditional lobbying — you can't regulate a company you can't operate without. The revolving door between Amazon and government is personified by Jay Carney, who went from being President Obama's Press Secretary — the public voice of the White House — to Amazon's Senior VP of Global Corporate Affairs. Carney ran Amazon's lobbying operation and public communications, using his White House relationships to navigate regulatory challenges. He later became White House Counselor under Biden, completing a government-to-corporation-to-government cycle. Senator Schumer's daughter works at Amazon, creating another subtle but real connection between the company and congressional leadership. Amazon's tax history is a case study in corporate political power. Despite earning billions in profits, Amazon paid $0 in federal income taxes in 2017 and 2018, using a combination of tax credits, stock compensation deductions, and aggressive tax planning. The company's HQ2 search in 2017-2018 was a masterclass in extracting government subsidies: Amazon pitted 238 cities against each other in a bidding war, extracting over $2 billion in tax incentives from New York and Virginia. The New York deal collapsed after backlash led by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but the Virginia incentives stood, including a $750 million incentive package from Arlington County. Amazon's labor practices are its most politically sensitive issue. With 1.5 million employees — the second-largest private employer in America — Amazon's workplace conditions, wages, and anti-union campaigns are constant subjects of congressional scrutiny. The company spent millions fighting union drives at its Bessemer, Alabama warehouse and the JFK8 facility on Staten Island, deploying union-avoidance consultants at approximately $3,000 per day per consultant. When the Amazon Labor Union won at JFK8 in 2022, Amazon challenged the result for over a year. The company's warehouse injury rate has consistently exceeded the industry average, with ProPublica and other investigative outlets documenting the human cost of Amazon's speed-obsessed fulfillment model. Despite positioning itself as politically neutral and customer-obsessed, Amazon's political spending reveals its priorities: protecting AWS government contracts, fighting antitrust action, weakening labor protections, and maintaining favorable tax treatment. The company donates to members of the Appropriations Committee who oversee federal technology spending and to Commerce Committee members who shape e-commerce and data regulation.