Posted by Keturah Hetrick on Dec. 21, 2020
As President Donald Trump begins the last month of his term, the "swamp" he promised to drain continues to swell:
LegiStorm data shows that the number of congressional staff who passed through the revolving door in the past 20 years has surged past the 10,000 mark.
That number of current and former staffers who have either lobbied or acted as foreign agents now sits at 10,325. At least 5,255 have been Republicans, compared to 4,765 Democrats.
If anything, the number underrepresents the true magnitude. This count excludes any staff who did not receive a salary from Congress, such as fellows, unpaid interns and detailees from other government agencies. Likewise, it does not include state lobbyists, nor the thousands of former congressional staff serving as government-relations professionals who do not believe that their work meets the legal threshold for federal disclosure.
In addition to congressional staff, 520 former U.S. representatives and senators have also registered as lobbyists during the same 20-year time period.
Some people and organizations who "caught our eye" last week:
