Former employees of federal agencies can often find good (and lucrative) jobs as lobbyists, capitalizing on the connections that they forged while in public service. An Environmental Protection Agency administrator may go on to lobby his former colleagues on environmental issues, and a White House staffer can tap her West Wing connections when she starts a new job on K Street. The White House is traditionally the executive branch’s largest supplier of fresh lobbyists; the office of the president employs a large team of staffers of varying seniority. But public servants switching to careers as lobbyists (and back again) come from agencies as varied as the Department of Defense, NASA and the Smithsonian Institution. Agency employees strolling through the revolving door include those as powerful—and well connected—as secretaries of state and as far from Washington as Peace Corps volunteers. The agencies shown here have employed the greatest number of former lobbyists—or sent the greatest number of former employees to lobbying firms and interest groups.
| Agency | Number of revolving door people profiled |
|---|---|
| Dept of Commerce | 1736 |
| Dept of Defense | 1688 |
| Dept of State | 1452 |
| Dept of Health & Human Services | 1225 |
| White House | 1216 |
| Dept of Agriculture | 1112 |
| Dept of Army | 1080 |
| US House of Representatives | 876 |
| Dept of Justice | 864 |
| Dept of Energy | 840 |
| Dept of Transportation | 750 |
| Dept of Interior | 700 |
| Dept of Labor | 555 |
| Dept of Housing & Urban Development | 530 |
| Dept of Homeland Security | 520 |
| Dept of the Treasury | 444 |
| Dept of Navy | 428 |
| Dept of Education | 412 |
| Dept of Air Force | 312 |
| US Senate | 256 |
Why is it that when people do this for a corporation, it’s fine – but if they do it for a foreign government, it’s treason?
I used to wonder just how much corruption a nation can tolerate before collapsing. I don’t wonder anymore.
@AC, a whole freaking lot.
I’m hard pressed to see any laws, from local, to Federal, that aren’t being written to benefit some big corporation and screw the small, independents and individual
People just do not have the capability of seeing what comes next. Which is why mindless entertainment on shiny screens are our #1 pursuit. We need/want to be told the story, not write it ourselves.
It is an evil trait in our fellow men. Having recognized it, one most figure out how to deal and profit from it.