In the face of mounting criticism that the Trump transition team is heavily reliant on lobbyists, the incoming President-Elect decided to replace New Jersey Gov. Christie as transition chairman with his Vice President Elect, Mike Pence. USA Today reports that, “Pence and the transition’s newly installed executive director Rick Dearborn also are removing lobbyists from the transition.”
Lobby Blog has previously reported that during his campaign President Elect Trump proposed a “5 point ethics reform package directed at the lobbying industry. The goal of this reform package, according to Mr. Trump, is to “Drain the swamp in Washington, D.C. “
Furthering his ethics reform package, the Trump transition told reporters in a conference call Wednesday night that “it would require lobbyists hired for either transition or official administration positions to terminate their lobbying registrations and sign a pledge not to lobby again for five years after departing,” according to Politico. The lobbying restrictions “could make it difficult for Trump, whose transition team has struggled to get off the ground, to attract experienced professionals in policy circles where lobbying is a common revenue stream. The policy is in some ways far more rigid than President Barack Obama’s groundbreaking lobbyist ban.”
The restrictions on lobbying the Trump transition has issued complicates the transition as some job-seekers will look elsewhere because it limits how they can earn a living when they decide to leave the administration. The incoming administration needs to hire approximately 4,000 executive-branch employees. According to Politico, “Several lobbyists on the transition were caught off guard by the announcement and said they were not aware of the new policy. They will have to terminate their registrations to come into compliance, according to a transition team official.”
