Walgreens CEO Brewer Hired Gov. Newsom's Former Chief of Staff to Negotiate Abortion Pills

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Walgreens CEO Brewer Hired Gov. Newsom’s Former Chief of Staff to Negotiate Abortion Pills AOC She

Politico did what good journalists do on an important story. They dug deeply and late Monday, Christopher Cadelago sprung a humdinger of a piece of news about events surrounding California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ire at and staff negotiations with Walgreens over their front of the pack capitulation to the demands of red state AGs around the distribution of abortion pills.

Now the governor may be a forgiving kind of guy, but the first thought that went through my mind reading the post was “that’s one hell of a bridge to burn”, especially as the darling not only of Governor Newsom but also as a senior policy adviser to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

Meet Ann O’Leary, Former Chief of Staff to Gavin Newsom

I speak of the lawyer on the phone with Newsom’s inner circle staff, as a lead representative for Walgreens: Ann O’Leary, the governor’s first chief of staff and now a partner in the law firm Jenner & Block.

When Walgreen’s — including CEO Roz Brewer herself —realized that Newsom was deadly serious about his lack of respect for Walgreens in their Little Goody Two Shoes dealings with red state AGs, they knew backup was required.

Admittedly, I don’t understand for one moment how Walgreens CEO Rosalind Brewer’s mind works, but she had two choices. 1) One was the route she took — a corner office powerplay with a man in charge of his state’s fourth largest economy in the world. 2) She could have retained O’Leary as her behind-the-scenes, one-on-one private adviser.

Brewer Needs to Take Charge

I would have taken this route, at least on the short-term. I would have done the negotiating after O’Leary prepped me and practiced with me all night if necessary. She would have corrected me and critiqued me. “Don’t do that. The governor hates that approach.”

She would have been in my office writing notes during the convos. If the call was video, O’Leary would have been sitting on the floor next to me but out of sight. Under all circumstances, she would have remained my private adviser, not the person in the cockpit.

Update 3/14/23: As AOC commented at midnight, O’Leary has her own headaches. The top of Google headline from Fox News is Former chief of staff to Gavin Newsom siding with Walgreens in abortion fight amid rising tensions.

Oh great!O’Leary is on Breitbart now! Hillary Clinton will love that her former chief adviser is a darling in the Breitbart crowd.

Walgreens Sounds Like Trump With Their Whining

This entire Walgreens situation is becoming a soap opera. And the stakes are crucially high for all parties — including all women of childbearing age in America. Is that enough pressure Walgreens?

How about stop playing the victim — it’s so MAGA and you are constantly quoted in the press as being the misunderstood victim, unfairly treated. Get some backbone and some real strategy, while you’re at it. Because this is not going well at all. ~ Anne

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Walgreens CEO Brewer Hired Gov. Newsom's Former Chief of Staff to Negotiate Abortion Pills
Walgreens CEO Brewer Hired Gov. Newsom's Former Chief of Staff to Negotiate Abortion Pills

Politico did what good journalists do on an important story. They dug deeply and late Monday, Christopher Cadelago sprung a humdinger of a piece of news about events surrounding California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ire and staff negotiations with Walgreens over their front of the pack capitulation to the demands of red state AGs around the distribution of abortion pills.

Now the governor may be a forgiving kind of guy, but the first thought that went through my mind reading the post was “that’s one hell of a bridge to burn”, especially as the darling not only of Governor Newsom but also as a senior policy adviser to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

Meet Ann O’Leary, Former Chief of Staff to Gavin Newsom

I speak of the lawyer on the phone with Newsom’s inner circle staff, as a lead representative for Walgreens: Ann O’Leary, the governor’s first chief of staff and now a partner in the law firm Jenner & Block.

CEO Roz Brewer's Walgreens Donated in 2022 to Red State AG's No Abortion Pills Letter Group
CEO Roz Brewer's Walgreens Donated in 2022 to Red State AG's No Abortion Pills Letter Group

Like this Twitter follower, I was also watching Ali Velshi on MSNBC Saturday, when he reported that Walgreens had donated money to the very Red State AGs group that sent Walgreens the onimous “don’t do it” letter about selling abortion pills in their stores.

Unlike Fox News, Ali Velshi is very particular about the words coming out of his mouth. While we don’t know the amount of money donated — and whether a similar amount was donated to a Blue State AGs group — I do not challenge the veracity of Velshi’s claim. He would not make it without the receipts.

This new revelation didn’t make me feel any better about Walgreens CEO Roz Brewer, a businesswoman we celebrated on her appointment to the Walgreens Boots Alliance corner office as the first Black woman CEO.

California Cancels May 2023 Renewal of Walgreens Prison System Pharma Contract
California Cancels May 2023 Renewal of Walgreens Prison System Pharma Contract

In the first step of an “exhaustive review” of all contracts between Walgreens and the state of California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday that California will not renew a $54 million contract by which Walgreens delivers pharmacy services to inmates in California’s prison system. The contract was set to renew on May 1, 2023.

“This is an attempt to call the question ‘Which side are you on? Whose side are you on?” Newsom said in an interview with POLITICO ahead of the announcement. “Are you going to just cower in the face of bullies? Are you going to just roll over?”

When Walgreens, now led by former Starbucks COO Rosalind Brewer, stepped out solo over the weekend, saying that her pharmacies would abide by demand letters from red state attorneys generals that they agree not to sell mifepristone — even in red states where abortion is legal — AOC called the action a major mistake.

Anticipating severe backlash should have been a high priority for Brewer — especially when Walgreens was agreeing to anti-women demands going beyond what their state abortion laws now require.

Could Walgreens Big Bow to Red States Demands on Abortion Pills Backfire? We Hope So!
Could Walgreens Big Bow to Red States Demands on Abortion Pills Backfire? We Hope So!

When Detroit native Rosalind ‘Roz’ Brewer left her position as COO at Starbucks in January 2021 to become the CEO of the Walgreens Boots Alliance, her appointment was hailed.

‘Roz’ Brewer was the first and only African American woman to lead a Fortune 500 company. And her credentials were stellar.

Fast forward two years, and Brewer is now the first CEO to bow to the demands of red-state attorneys general that drug store chains like CVS and Walgreens not sell abortion pills under new rules released by the FDA.

Brewer is also eyeing Medicare Advantage plans as her source of new and significantly more stable Walgreens income. Is she assuming that the Biden Administration won’t find ways to penalize Walgreens for so easily and quickly cutting off access to abortion pills to American women desperate to find them?

What happens if CVS decides not to honor the red states demands and fights for women’s access to abortion care in states where it remains legal, even if it is tied up in the courts?

Brewer can’t possibly believe that her Medicare Advantage Plan grandmothers won’t penalize Walgreen’s and favor CVS, if the larger and more profitable CVS decides to at least fight for their granddaughters’ access to abortion pills.

Starbucks COO Rosalind Brewer Becomes CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance
Starbucks COO Rosalind Brewer Becomes CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance

Former COO of Starbucks Rosalind ‘Roz’ Brewer will become the new chief executive officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance, making her the only Black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company. In December 2020, Catalyst reviewed women holding CEO positions on the S&P 500 list.

The Detroit native is a graduate of Spelman College and was elected in 2006 to the college’s Board of Trustees. Brewer has advanced studies degrees from the Advanced Management Program of The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of the Director’s College at the University of Chicago/Stanford School of Law.

The pre-Starbucks CEO and President of Sam’s Club, owned by Walmart, Brewer arrives at Walgreens at a time when the Walgreens partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is “off to a rocky start”, writes WWD.