Five former lobbyists have been appointed or appointed to President-elect Trump's cabinet, suggesting Trump may not be as closed off to these hired guns as he appeared on the campaign trail. .
Presidents of both parties have long appointed former lobbyists to high-level positions in their administrations. Ron Klain had signed up to lobby on behalf of clients such as Fannie Mae, Time Warner, and Cigna. over 15 years So did Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack before he became President Biden's first chief of staff. someone who previously lobbied For the National Education Association.
Susie Wiles, the incoming chief of staff, and former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, whom Trump nominated to lead the Justice Department, are both alumni of the lobbying firm Ballard Partners and former Trump campaign fundraiser. It is led by one of its top executives, Brian Ballard, and staffed by alumni of the Trump administration.
Mr. Wiles, co-chairman of the Trump campaign, was also a registered lobbyist for a firm called Mercury Public Affairs. Recently too First quarter of 2024.
Former Congressman Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), President Trump's nominee for Secretary of Transportation. Former Congressman Doug Collins (R-Ga.), candidate for Secretary of Veterans Affairs. In recent years, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) candidate Jamison Greer has also registered to lobby.
On the campaign trail, Trump said he was “not much of a lobbyist person” and proposed a ban on government and elected officials becoming lobbyists after leaving office.
“You have to stop listening to lobbyists. You know, I was Not a big deal to lobbyists. And if they have even a little bit of access to presidents and senators and congressmen and women, they can get a lot of money,” Trump told podcaster and comedian Theo Fung. Approximately 1,800 A Washington pharmaceutical lobbyist during an interview in August.
Mr. Fong then asked what could be done to curb the influence of these lobbyists, whose right to petition the government has long been protected by the First Amendment.
“One of the ways to stop that is to say that if you're going to go into government, you can never be a lobbyist,” Trump said. “If you're an elected official or work in government, I would say you can never be a lobbyist.”
President Trump's transition press secretary, Caroline Leavitt, told The Hill: “We would like to thank the highly qualified and respected members of President Trump's team who are deeply committed to the mission of making America great again. He accused him of writing a “ridiculous and, frankly, insulting hit piece.”
“President Trump's nominees and appointees have only one interest in mind for President Trump and his team, and that is putting the American people first,” said Levitt, who will serve as President Trump's White House press secretary. All will abide by the ethical obligations of their roles.”
Still, the former lobbyist seeking to join the Trump administration may come as a surprise to voters who have heard Trump's harsh criticism of hired defenders. and the special interests they represent during election campaigns, including during an October rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“Above all, you are qualified to provide that leadership in Washington.” don't answer to lobbyistsI answer to bureaucrats and corrupt special interests, but only to you, the hardworking American people,” Trump said, later extending an invitation. Billionaire CEO Elon Musk To be on stage with him.
Wiles, a longtime political strategist, will become President Trump's first female chief of staff when he takes office next Monday. On election night, Mr. Trump took to the stage to thank his supporters, including Mr. Wiles, who said, “I prefer to keep a low profile.''
Trump added: “She's not behind it.” The next day after the winner of the 2024 election was declared, the president-elect named her chief of staff, one of the few cabinet positions that does not require confirmation.
As Wiles has stepped into the spotlight, her past lobbying efforts have come under increased scrutiny.
Wiles' lobbying efforts are closely tied to the first Trump administration. Wiles, who led the Trump campaign's Florida division in 2016, signed up lobbying clients for 30 clients at Ballard Partners from 2017 to 2020, according to the report. Federal Lobbying Disclosure.
Wiles' clients included tobacco company SI Group Client Services, which has fought Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations on tobacco products. Pebble Partnership has sued the Environmental Protection Agency for blocking its mining project in Alaska's Bristol Bay. Republic Services, a waste management company, effort fought Force the company to remove radioactive nuclear waste from its dumpsite outside St. Louis. According to the report By the progressive nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen.
When Ms. Wiles moved to Mercury Public Relations in 2022, she re-enrolled in FDA regulatory lobbying for her only lobbying client, SI Group Client Services. she account lobbyist Most recently in the first quarter of 2024.
Public Citizen has agreed that Wiles will distance himself from decision-making involving past lobbying clients and voluntarily ban himself from lobbying the White House and federal government upon leaving the Trump administration. requested to do so.
Mr. Bondi has also come under scrutiny for his past lobbying efforts with Ballard Partners, including clients such as Republic Services, Amazon and Uber, which have been targeted by the Justice Department. .
But unlike Wiles, Bondi will have to defend her past accomplishments in the Senate. qatar government. Her confirmation hearing began Wednesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the committee's ranking member, said: “We are concerned that you failed to identify widespread lobbying of foreign governments and large corporations as a potential conflict of interest.” he said in his opening remarks.
When Durbin asked if Bondi would recuse himself from litigation involving past clients, Bondi said he would “consult with career ethics officials within the Department of Justice and make the appropriate decision.”
Duffy's confirmation hearing also began Wednesday in the Senate Commerce Committee.
He represented Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District from 2011 to 2019 and was a member of the House Financial Services Committee. After leaving Congress in 2019, Duffy joined lobbying giant BGR Group, where he co-headed the firm's financial services practice and served as a member of its advisory board.
According to , Duffy was registered as a lobbyist in the first quarter of 2023. Federal Lobbying Disclosure. He registered eight clients for lobbying, including Markham LLP, which is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Billed in June 2023 There were “systematic quality control failures and violations of auditing standards” for hundreds of customers.
He also briefly lobbied the Partnership for Open Skies, which represents American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and several airline unions, on the Gulf carrier issue in 2020.
Mr. Collins and Mr. Greer were registered as lobbyists through the first quarter of 2024, but each was reported to have only one federal lobbying client.
Mr. Collins has signed up to lobby on criminal justice reform with the nonpartisan nonprofit Justice Action Network. He received $270,000 between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2024, when he ends his lobbying activities, according to the company. Federal Lobbying Registration.
The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee postponed Collins' hearing until next Tuesday, noting that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had not completed a background check on Collins, but that he had submitted all documents.
Mr. Greer, a partner at King & Spalding, served as chief of staff to the U.S. Trade Representative during the first Trump administration. He joined the company in 2020 and works in the international trade team.
At the end of 2022, Mr. Guria registered to lobby for enforcement of investment arbitration against Italian construction company Webbuild. Last year, the company sued the Republic of Argentina in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking payment for water and wastewater construction services dating back to 1999. .
Greer is not one of the attorneys in the ongoing case, according to court documents.
His confirmation hearing has not yet been scheduled by the Senate Finance Committee.
