Increasingly, the durability of our democracy is being tested on a daily basis as we grapple with attacks on our political norms, an urgent reckoning with racial justice, and a once-in-a-century pandemic. But our country has a history of making progress in times of crisis. We must do so again.
Since 2016, lobbying spending has increased every year, reaching $3.47 billion in 2019, as has the number of registered lobbyists. The Trump administration has brought in almost 300 former lobbyists since it began and named more former lobbyists to Cabinet-level posts than the past two presidents did during their eight-year terms.
At the same time, lawmakers continue to spin through the “ revolving door ” on Capitol Hill, cashing in to lobby for “K Street.” Currently, almost 400 former members of Congress have registered as lobbyists — and that doesn’t even include the “shadow lobbyists” who evade registration because of the weak lobby disclosure laws.