One of Capitol Hill’s most popular new Democrats on Thursday called for a total ban on the revolving door that allows lawmakers to jump from Congress into K Street lobbying firms as soon as they leave office.
In a tweet, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said that former members of Congress “shouldn’t be allowed to turn right around and leverage your service for a lobbyist check.”
“I don’t think it should be legal at ALL to become a corporate lobbyist if you’ve served in Congress,” said Ocasio-Cortez. “At minimum there should be a long wait period.”
After the Democratic wave in the 2018 midterm elections, 44 federal lawmakers left office and found private sector jobs. A Public Citizen analysis, released Thursday, found that of those 44, 26 “were working for lobbying firms, consulting firms, trade groups or business groups working to influence federal government activities.”
Among those that made the switch are former Rep. Joe Crowley, the Democrat who Ocasio-Cortez unseated, and former Rep. Mike Capuano, a Suffolk County, Massachusetts Democrat whose progressive credentials weren’t enough to stop now-Rep. Ayanna Pressley from besting him in the 2018 Democratic primary.
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