“Revolving door” lobbyists have helped defense contractors get off to “strong” start in 2023.
by Taylor Giorno, Open Secrets
The defense sector hired dozens of former armed services committee and Department of Defense personnel last year, with more swinging through the so-called “revolving door” to lobby on behalf of defense sector clients for the first time in the first quarter of 2023, a new OpenSecrets analysis of federal lobbying disclosures found.
At least 672 former government officials, military officers and members of Congress worked as lobbyists, board members or executives for the top 20 defense companies in 2022, according to a new report released by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) last Wednesday. Warren’s staff utilized OpenSecrets’ revolving door database as well as corporate websites, lobbying disclosures and U.S. Senate confirmation lists to identify these individuals.
“This practice is widespread in the defense industry, giving, at minimum, the appearance of corruption and favoritism, and potentially increasing the chance that DoD spending results in ineffective weapons and programs, bad deals, and waste of taxpayer dollars,” the report says.
From 2011 through 2022, more than three-quarters of defense sector lobbyists previously worked in the federal government. These lobbyists leveraged their relationships and expertise on a range of issues, including the annual defense spending bill, an OpenSecrets analysis of federal lobbying disclosures found.
Recent Posts
Israeli Historian Ilan Pappé: Despite Ceasefire, Palestinians Still Face “Elimination, Genocide”
Take Action Now “I hope that the world will not be misled that Israel is now ready to open a different kind of page in its relationship with…
Who Will Defend Ordinary Working People Against Trump And MAGA?
Take Action Now How powerful can this movement-based opposition be? That depends on what the ordinary Americans being harmed by the Trump regime…
Trump Labor Department Says His Immigration Raids Are Causing a Food Crisis
Take Action Now In a filing in the Federal Register, the Labor Department argues there are “immediate dangers to the American food supply” due to a…
Federal Judge Sides With Journalists, Protesters in Chicago Over Violent Tactics of Trump’s Federal Agents
Take Action Now “Individuals are allowed to protest,” the judge said. “They are allowed to speak. That is guaranteed by the First Amendment to our…