First appeared on FOX: As one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents in the U.S. Senate, and a history of fierce criticism of lobbying influence in Washington, the senator has positioned himself as one of the most aggressive senators when it comes to lobbyists who frequent his office.
Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown Legistorm's revolving door rankings Track congressional staffers who join or leave the office to become lobbyists.
According to Legistorm, 64 people have lobbied before or after working for Brown's office, which is tied for 15th all time.
Brown ranks seventh among active senators in Congress.
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Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio and chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, spoke at a hearing in Washington, DC, on June 22, 2023. (Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Brown's former staff now lobby for companies including TikTok, Planned Parenthood, Exxon Mobil and Kroger.
Brown, who is chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, has hired at least three former lobbyists as chief of staff, Fox News Digital reports. Previously reportedAmong them was James Heimbach, once known as a “hot commodity” in lobbying circles. After leaving Brown's office, Heimbach continued lobbying, including working for Bank of America, one of the nation's largest financial institutions.
Heimbach also lobbied for a company called Cigna Corporation. Ohio State Sues The company is suspected of inflating prescription drug costs by charging high fees to pharmacy benefit management services.
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Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, attends a rail safety event in Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday, April 12, 2023. (Maddy McGarvey/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Brown has positioned himself as a populist Democrat in Ohio, a state that Trump won by 8 points in 2020, and has long lamented the influence of lobbyists in politics.
“There's something wrong with corporate America, and there's something wrong with Congress and this administration listening too much to corporate lobbyists,” he says. He told Rolling Stone magazine last year.
Brown also claims he “fought corporate lobbyists” to pass the Anti-Inflation Act. Talk a lot About how he's “fought” lobbyists throughout his career.
“Sherrod has always stood up to special interests to provide a level playing field for Ohioans,” Brown said. The website has“Whether it's Big Pharma, Big Oil or Big Banks, Sherrod is fighting back against Wall Street's profit-driven business model and working to ensure the hard work of all Ohioans is rewarded.”
A spokesman for Brown's campaign defended Senator Brown's record and argued that his Republican opponent “only cares about himself and his special interest allies.”
“Ohioans know Sherrod will always fight for them and stand up to anyone who gets in his way, which is why special interests are spending record amounts to defeat him,” the spokesperson said. “While Bernie Moreno only cares about himself and his special interest allies, Sherrod is fighting for stricter ethics and transparency rules for lobbyists, supporting bipartisan legislation to crack down on foreign activists, and fighting to ease Ohioans' burdens by holding corporations accountable.”
L – Bernie Moreno R – Senator Sherrod Brown (Getty Images)
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The campaign noted that Brown last year supported the Lobbying Disclosure Improvement Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at cracking down on lobbying and strengthening disclosure requirements for foreign lobbyists. Brown, the Ohio senator, is also a co-sponsor of the Integrity Leadership and Government Act, which would overhaul congressional lobbying and ethics rules for senators and their staffs.
“Sherrod Brown acts like an average Ohioan, but he is nothing more than a career politician who gives his blessing to the Washington swamp,” Reagan McCarthy, a spokesman for Brown's Republican opponent, Bernie Moreno, told Fox News Digital in a statement.
“In November, Ohioans will finally force Sherrod into retirement after 50 years in politics and send an outsider to Washington who will actually work for the state of Ohio.”
Republicans see the race as one of their best chances to retake control of the Senate in November, and the race between Moreno and Brown is expected to be close, with a report from Cook Political rating the race as a “50-50” contest.
