Quote:President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team on Wednesday announced that it will require incoming officials to terminate their lobbying registrations, and agree not to lobby again for five years after leaving the administration.
Anyone joining the transition or the administration will have to sign the following pledge: “By signing below I hereby certify that I am not currently registered and reporting as a federal lobbyist as defined by the Lobbying Disclosure Act as amended or as a compensated lobbyist at the state level in any state. If I was listed as lobbyist in the most recent lobbying disclosure forms or reported to be filed by federal or state law, I hereby notify the president-elect’s transition team that I have filed the necessary forms to the appropriate government agency to terminate my registered lobbyist. I will provide the transition team with written evidence of my federal or state lobbyist termination as soon as possible.”
“The key thing for this administration is going to be that people going out of government won’t be able to use that service to enrich themselves,” Republican National Committee chief strategist Sean Spicer said during a conference call. After the call, he rejected a suggestion that the post-employment ban could hinder the transition team’s ability to recruit qualified applicants.
But the sweeping post-employment restrictions could make it difficult for Trump, whose transition team has struggled to get off the ground, to attract experienced professionals in policy circles where lobbying is a common revenue stream.
The policy is in some ways far more rigid than President Barack Obama’s groundbreaking lobbyist ban.
The Obama transition team's policy restricted hires who lobbied for one year prior, as did an earlier code of ethics for the Trump transition obtained by POLITICO. Trump’s new policy appears to be more lenient on the front end in that it allows new hires to have been registered to lobby on the issues they’re advising the transition on right up until they come aboard, provided the incoming transition aides show proof that they terminated their lobbying registration.
Several lobbyists on the transition were caught off guard by the announcement and said they were not aware of the new policy. They will have to terminate their registrations to come into compliance, according to a transition team official. “It’s about what you do, not what you did,” the official said.
Spicer said the same rule would apply to people joining the administration. Obama's ban applied to the previous year, but his team waived the policy for many new hires.
In addition, officials in the Trump administration will be banned from lobbying for five years after leaving government. That sounds extremely sweeping, but it’s unclear how it will be enforced.
Media is spinning this as a transition team in turmoil with people getting fired left and right. In reality, Trump is just keeping the DC rats out of his team, it's not easy keeping rats away. I even read somewhere one of the people fired was using his company email address to establish foreign relationships. I don't like the douche, but I gotta give him credit for holding people accountable.
(This post was last modified: 11-16-2016 11:37 PM by Pyrizzo.)
Historically lobbyists have played a useful role in DC. Traditionally they have provided input into the nuances of legislation as a guide to lawmakers.
Unfortunately, more recently the power of the argument has become the power of the checkbook.
(11-16-2016 11:36 PM)Pyrizzo Wrote: Media is spinning this as a transition team in turmoil with people getting fired left and right. In reality, Trump is just keeping the DC rats out of his team, it's not easy keeping rats away. I even read somewhere one of the people fired was using his company email address to establish foreign relationships. I don't like the douche, but I gotta give him credit for holding people accountable.
E=DT#moxie
ol' boy is a hoot....gotta understand the method behind the perceived madness from the booby trap tube....
will it work? that remains to be seen....I'll take ~50% policies being approved as a Yuge victory for the populous moving forward.....
this is a great move that promotes the faith amongst the voters that shill holds the best of hope to leave something worthwhile for their children....
(11-16-2016 11:36 PM)Pyrizzo Wrote: Media is spinning this as a transition team in turmoil with people getting fired left and right. In reality, Trump is just keeping the DC rats out of his team, it's not easy keeping rats away. I even read somewhere one of the people fired was using his company email address to establish foreign relationships. I don't like the douche, but I gotta give him credit for holding people accountable.
E=DT#moxie
ol' boy is a hoot....gotta understand the method behind the perceived madness from the booby trap tube....
will it work? that remains to be seen....I'll take ~50% policies being approved as a Yuge victory for the populous moving forward.....
this is a great move that promotes the faith amongst the voters that shill holds the best of hope to leave something worthwhile for their children....
This plus writing legislation as a collaborative effort between Trump and the GOP majority to enact term limits will make the people trust him even more.
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Trump Team Announces Tough New Lobbying Ban
