Since his inauguration, President Trump and the Republican controlled Congress have worked at light-speed to dismantle many Obama-era regulations like the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. On Friday, Feb. 3, 2017 President Trump issued the “Presidential Executive Order on Core Principles for Regulating the United States Financial System” executive order, which according to Politico “backed sweeping changes to U.S. financial regulations…taking the first step toward undoing one of his predecessor’s signature legislative initiatives.”
Such actions have ignited fierce debate and lobbying activity. However, the Wall Street Journal reports that, “The number of federal lobbyist registrations last year fell to its lowest mark in 18 years, according to an analysis of new public records, as lobbyists increasingly exploit loopholes in disclosure rules. Some 11,143 total lobbyists filed registrations in 2016, down from 14,153 in 2008, the year before President Barack Obama took office—a decrease of nearly 30%, according to an analysis of lobbying records by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.”
