--- title: Carly Fiorina Takes A Swipe At 'Big Government' in D.C. Visit description: Carly Fiorina ostensibly came to Washington for an event on entrepreneurialism. But her political future was just under the surface. canonical: https://time.com/3667744/carly-fiorina-entrepreneurs/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-14T19:45:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:06:12.979Z article:section: Politics og:title: Prospective 2016er Carly Fiorina Talks 'Big Government' in D.C. Visit og:description: Carly Fiorina ostensibly came to Washington for an event on entrepreneurialism. But her political future was just under the surface. og:url: https://time.com/3667744/carly-fiorina-entrepreneurs/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt623f446ec6e7615b/698779e20b72e33ec16dd1f1/460635234.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-HERITAGE og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Prospective 2016er Carly Fiorina Talks 'Big Government' in D.C. Visit twitter:description: Carly Fiorina ostensibly came to Washington for an event on entrepreneurialism. But her political future was just under the surface. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt623f446ec6e7615b/698779e20b72e33ec16dd1f1/460635234.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Carly Fiorina Takes A Swipe At 'Big Government' in D.C. Visit  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jan 14, 2015 7:45 PM UTC  Carly Fiorina speaks about the economy at the Heritage Foundation on December 18, 2014. Carly Fiorina speaks about the economy at the Heritage Foundation on December 18, 2014.SAUL LOEB—AFP/Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jan 14, 2015 7:45 PM UTC Carly Fiorina ostensibly came to Washington for a non-political event on entrepreneurialism in America. But her political past and possible future were just under the surface. Speaking at the Miller Center’s Milstein Symposium, the former chairwoman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard took a few swipes at “big government” during a presentation on startups. “This is a town that works for big guys – big government, big labor, big businesses,” Fiorina said. “It’s always been that… \[But\] our future very much depends on the little guys. And I think that requires a rethinking of what the role of government is here.” Her comments toed the line between the purpose of the symposium—to discuss the recently released report from the Milstein Commission that she co-chaired with Steve Case entitled “[Can Startups Save the American Dream?](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/milsteinreport-americandream.pdf)“—and her own political ambitions. Fiorina, who ran unsuccessfully for a California Senate seat in 2010, is [actively exploring](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/carly-fiorina-actively-explores-2016-presidential-run-but-faces-gop-critics/2014/11/25/b317b1a2-74b3-11e4-bd1b-03009bd3e984%5Fstory.html) a run for the White House in 2016. She was careful to reiterate the the report is nonpartisan and outlines recommendations for fostering small business that don’t require the government, but in the panel discussion she kept coming back to a common Republican complaint: too much red tape. “When was the last time that we actually did an inventory of all the regulations that are on the books? Answer: not in my lifetime, not in anybody’s lifetime,” she said, hinting at a possible campaign theme. “It’s like geologic sediment. We have eons, millennia of rules and regulations at the federal level, at the state level and at the local level, and it has become a primordial soup. And if you’re a big company you can handle it, but if you’re a startup or small company you really can’t. The point is, we have to start undoing some of this stuff.” Finally, someone asked Fiorina explicitly about 2016: “Looking ahead to the 2016 field, to those who have declared and those who are likely to, including possibly yourself…” “Boy, that was a graceful segue!” Fiorina said, laughing, then segued back to talking about the report. ### See the 2016 Candidates Looking Very Presidential  Sen. Ted Cruz is surrounded by stars and stripes at the 2014 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2014. Mark Peterson—Redux  Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton gazes pensively into the distance at Iowa Senator Tom Harken'a annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis for TIME  Jeb Bush Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush flashes a power watch before giving his keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in Washington on Nov. 20, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Bernie Sanders waves to supporters after officially announcing his candidacy for the U.S. presidency during an event at Waterfront Park in Burlington, Vermont, on May 26, 2015. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Chris Christie New Jersey Governor Chris Christie strikes a presidential power stance at the ceremony for the opening of the 206 bypass in Hillsborough, New Jersey on October 28, 2013. Mark Peterson—Redux  Former Hewlett-Packard Co Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina listens to her introduction from the side of the stage at the Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2015. Jim Young—Reuters  Rand Paul Sen. Rand Paul works a crowd during a campaign stop on October 24, 2014 in McDonough, Georgia. Jessica McGowan—Getty Images  Rick Perry Texas Gov. Rick Perry looks powerfully patriotic during the National Anthem before an NCAA college football game on Nov. 27, 2014, in College Station, Texas. David J. Phillip—AP  Bobby Jindal Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal looks to the future during The Family Leadership Summit on Aug. 9, 2014, in Ames, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall—AP  Martin O'Malley Maryland Governor Martin OíMalley ponders decorating ideas in front of his possible future home on CBS's Face the Nation on Feb. 23, 2014. Chris Usher—AP  Marco Rubio Sen. Marco Rubio looks determined the morning after the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. on January 29, 2014. Melissa Golden—Redux  Ben CarsonBen Carson at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference on March 8, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Jim Webb Retiring Sen. Jim Webb imitates the presidential wave during a rally in Virginia Beach, Va. on Sept. 27, 2012. Steve Helber—AP  John Kasich Ohio Gov. John Kasich practices his presidential victory pose at the Ohio Republican Party celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. Tony Dejak—AP  Rick Santorum Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum looks resolute at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 7, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Scott Walker Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker practices the presidential point on March 3, 2014 in Milwaukee. Jeffrey Phelps—AP  Mike Huckabee Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee fine-tunes his presidential oratory at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md. on March 7, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Lincoln Chafee, Former Rhode Island Governor, poses for a selfie with a student after announcing he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Lindsey Graham Lindsey Graham announced his plans to join the 2016 presidential race. Alex Wong—Getty Images  George Pataki Former New York governor George Pataki listens to a question at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, in this April 17, 2015 file photo. Brian Snyder—Reuters ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3667744/carly-fiorina-entrepreneurs/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3667744/carly-fiorina-entrepreneurs/"},"headline":"Carly Fiorina Takes A Swipe At 'Big Government' in D.C. Visit","datePublished":"2015-01-14T19:45:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:12.979Z","description":"She called federal regulations \"primordial soup\"","url":"https://time.com/3667744/carly-fiorina-entrepreneurs/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic","Carly Fiorina"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt623f446ec6e7615b/698779e20b72e33ec16dd1f1/460635234.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt623f446ec6e7615b/698779e20b72e33ec16dd1f1/460635234.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-POLITICS-HERITAGE","caption":"US-POLITICS-HERITAGE","creditText":"SAUL LOEB—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3667744/carly-fiorina-entrepreneurs/","name":"Carly Fiorina Takes A Swipe At 'Big Government' in D.C. Visit"}}]}] ```