The Lobbyists Are in Charge Now
For a president who vowed to “drain the swamp,” the revolving door between corporate lobbying and regulatory agencies spins full tilt. According to a March 2018 report by ProPublica, at least 187 political appointees had previously worked as federal lobbyists, many of whom regulated the same industries that they had previously represented. On February 20th, the Campaign Legal Center, a public watchdog group, filed a complaint against six former lobbyists in the Department of the Interior with prior ties to the NRA and the Heritage Foundation among others.