Obama Tries to Shut Revolving Door, but Aides Slip Through

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May 31, 2013

President Obama made it a priority to reduce the role of special interests in Washington and to slow the revolving door between public officials and lobbyists, but many former White House aides have recently been hired as consultants to influence the White House, according to an article in The Washington Post.

The article says five former aides are now on both sides of the debate on the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Other former aides have been hired to influence the administration on issues including gun control, gambling, and mining.

From the article:

Obama came into office promising that his administration would hew to higher standards than his predecessors did. He implemented rules barring former aides from directly lobbying the government for two years and frequently decries the influence of “special interests” in Washington.

But the efforts have done little to slow a tide of groups hiring former top aides as highly paid consultants, speakers and media advisers in an effort to influence the administration — part of a longtime Washington practice in which interest groups seek access to the White House by hiring people who used to work there.

Read more at The Washington Post.  

Topics: Government Accountability

Related Content: Lobbying, Revolving Door, Un-Do Influence

Authors: Andre Francisco

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