Biden Grants Waivers to Lobbyists to Serve On Transition
By Chad Day and Andrew Restuccia
At least 40 people serving on President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team are or were once registered lobbyists, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal.
The Biden transition team has sought to limit the influence of lobbyists in setting up the new administration. Its ethics rules don’t impose a blanket ban on lobbyists, but they require individuals who are registered lobbyists, or have registered as lobbyists within the past year, to get approval from the transition’s general counsel to serve on the team.
The Journal cross-referenced congressional lobbying databases against the 500-plus people who were announced this week as members of the Biden transition’s agency review teams. Those teams are tasked with implementing the president-elect’s policy agenda, working with career government staffers to get up to speed on key issues and eventually embedding in agencies ahead of the inauguration.
Five people on the teams are currently registered as lobbyists or were registered within the last year, according to the Journal’s analysis.
The agency review teams have yet to start working with federal agencies because the Trump administration has not acknowledged Mr. Biden as the election winner. The Associated Press and other media outlets said Saturday that the former vice president had received enough Electoral College votes to secure the White House and named him the winner.