Trump signed the “Ethical Commitments by Executive Power Nominees” order in his first week in office, as part of his pledge to “drain the swamp” campaign in Washington.
But now, as he and his advisers leave the White House, Trump is reportedly allowing these officials to start lobbying when they leave the government.
The executive order of January 28, 2017 required that nominees ensure that they would not “engage in lobbying activities” in relation to the executive agency they were appointed to serve within five years of “terminating their employment” – effectively allowing them to lobby areas.
As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump initially called for approval of the five-year lobbying ban through legislation and a similar restriction for members of Congress and their officials. But his executive order ended up being free of that language.
In the signature, Trump criticized former President Barack Obama for enacting a two-year ban on lobbying for officials who left his government, saying the order of his Democratic predecessor was insufficient and full of loopholes.
But Trump’s order appeared to borrow the language of the Obama directive and a similar lobbying ban signed by former President Bill Clinton, NPR reported at the time.
Because the lobby may have an ambiguous title in practice, former employees can still “shadow” lobbying or profit from their government expertise by joining firms where they help lobbyists and clients of lobbying firms navigate Washington without formally registering. like lobbyists.
Clinton also rejected the five-year lobbying ban at the end of his term, which Trump criticized during the 2016 campaign.
“He manipulated the system when he left,” Trump said of Clinton as he competed against his wife, Hillary Clinton.
President-elect Joe Biden, who will take the oath on Wednesday, plans to implement several new ethical restrictions early in his presidency, including preventing officials who leave his government from lobbying during Biden’s term, CNN reported on Tuesday. .
The ethics rules, first reported by The Washington Post, would also prohibit employees who leave executive power from lobbying for a year after leaving the government.
CNN’s Arlette Saenz, Jasmine Wright, Dan Merica, Fredreka Schouten, Athena Jones and Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report.
