Amazon Turns on the Charm Amid Criticism From Right and Left<br />In the span of a few weeks this summer, Linda McMahon, head of the Small Business Administration, visited Amazon’s headquarters<br />in Seattle, where the company had small retailers on hand to talk about how Amazon had helped their businesses.<br />President Trump has lashed out at the company and Jeff Bezos, the company’s chief executive,<br />multiple times, accusing the company of avoiding taxes among other things.<br />Before last year, the company relied on a no-frills operation for more than a decade, prodding officials in Washington on narrow laws<br />and regulations and arguing about the nuances of issues like sales taxes and copyright.<br />The company has said it follows all tax laws and has supported a bill that would force online commerce sites to collect sales taxes.<br />Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, attended the opening of a new fulfillment center in Edwardsville, Ill.<br />And Senator Rob Portman, a Republican, visited a new fulfillment center in his home state of Ohio<br />Amazon is hosting events for lawmakers, like the day of events in July,<br />and holding discussions on transportation and labor policies for congressional staff and policy makers at its sleek offices near Capitol Hill.
