In an effort to be true to their word of “draining the swamp” and after a little backlash, Pence makes daring move and removes ALL Lobbyists from their transition team after taking over for Christi.
According to Elizabeth Warren, Trump’s transition team and potential cabinet was full of Wall Street elites, industry insiders, and lobbyists that make the best decisions for their clients and employers, not for the American people.
It seems that everyone brought on by Christi are being let go. It has yet to be seen if Trump will keep Obama’s rule of keeping lobbyists from serving on the administration but for now, they seem to be cleaning house.
The Hill has the story:
An unidentified source within the transition team told the Journal that it was one of Pence’s first moves since taking over the effort from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who was ousted last week.
Pence officially took control of the transition efforts on Tuesday, according to a document sent to the White House.
Since Christie’s removal, many of his appointees on the team have also been dismissed, and the transition effort has been taken over by campaign loyalists.
Trump had been under fire for having a transition team filled with lobbyists and other insiders, given his campaign pledge to “drain the swamp.” There had been roughly a dozen registered lobbyists working in and around the transition team, reports have said.
Those lobbyists included Rob Collins of S-3 Group, Mike Catanzaro at CGCN Group, Martin Whitmer of Whitmer & Worrall, J. Steven Hart at Williams & Jensen and tobacco company Altria’s Cindy Hayden, among others.
Trump has pledged to take on lobbyists in the White House and has already released a series of ethics proposals that would crack down on the industry.
One of his ideas would be to increase the “cooling off” period for lobbying to five years for former federal and congressional officials. He has also proposed banning former White House officials from ever lobbying for a foreign government.