Sequoia Capital, one of Silicon Valley’s most well-known venture capital companies, has fired its Washington, D.C.-based policy team and has closed its offices there.
The change takes effect at the end of March and will affect three full-time employees and policy fellows who worked with the company. Sequoia confirmed the layoffs, but two sources familiar with the issue that requested anonymity due to the topic being sensitive said the company would close its Washington office.
Sequoia says she established a small policy team that led the first Trump administration five years ago, advising investment teams and portfolio companies on regulatory issues, deepening her knowledge of the policy environment, and strengthening her connections with global policymakers, experts and think tanks. Don Vieira, who served as a senior national security position on the Department of Justice and the House Permanent Selection Committee, has opened his office, according to LinkedIn. Vieria will leave the company as part of the change. He did not respond to requests for comment.
“thank you [the policy group’s] Strategic guidance and efforts are now suitable to advance these relationships in the US and Europe. I am grateful to the team for their contributions and impact. ”
The Sequoia change is in contrast to the high-tech companies that have increased their visibility in Washington, DC since President Trump’s reelection. In January, Meta hired Joel Kaplan, former vice chief of staff for George W. Bush, to lead the global policy team, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited Trump in the White House and Mar Lago.
Several other venture capital companies are strengthening their presence in Washington, DC to support portfolio companies operating in highly regulated or political industries such as defense, crypto and AI. For example, venture capital firm Andreesen Horowitz has held several of its partners in official or advisory positions at the White House, and recently hired former North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry, and Matt Cronin, a former investigative advisor and deputy advisor to the U.S. House Selection Committee, as senior advisers at the company. Last fall, before the election, Catalyst launched what was called the “General Catalyst Institute” to influence AI, healthcare, defense, intelligence, manufacturing and energy policy.
Sequoia Capital has historically remained politically neutral as a corporation, even though many of its partners express their individual political views and donate large sums of money to presidential candidates. Botha’s top partner said last summer that although they were not registered with either party, they “focus more on entrepreneurship, job creation and policies that ensure that the US is ahead of the line.”
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.
