Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Wednesday 18 september 2019
Trump's Cabinet has had more ex-lobbyists than Obama or Bush

WASHINGTON (AP) — In less bor secretary, Pat Pizzella, is posed to register. partner in the Washington duct or wrongdoing.
than three years, President an ex-lobbyist and Trump's Shortly after taking office, office of the Gibson, Dunn Obama chose Pizzella for
Donald Trump has named pick to run the department, Trump signed an execu- & Crutcher firm, where he a GOP seat on the Federal
more former lobbyists to Eugene Scalia, also is an tive order that revoked an ran up a string of victories Labor Relations Author-
Cabinet-level posts than ex-lobbyist. Scalia's con- Obama directive prohibit- in court cases on behalf ity and he was an assistant
his most recent predeces- Labor secretary during the
sors did in eight, putting a George W. Bush adminis-
substantial amount of over- tration.
sight in the hands of people Two Trump Cabinet of-
with ties to the industries ficials, Interior Secretary
they're regulating. David Bernhardt and En-
The Cabinet choices are vironmental Protection
another sign that Trump's Agency Administrator An-
populist pledge to "drain drew Wheeler, have been
the swamp" is a catchy accused by congressional
campaign slogan but not a Democrats and public in-
serious attempt to change terest groups of failing to
the way Washington works. honor their ethics pledges.
Instead of staring down "the Both Bernhardt and Wheel-
unholy alliance of lobbyists er, backed by the U.S.
and donors and special in- Chamber of Commerce,
terests" as Trump recently have played leading roles
declared, the influence in- in the administration's roll-
dustry has flourished during back of environmental
his administration. regulations. They also both
The amount spent in 2019 worked at the agency they
on lobbying the U.S. gov- now lead during prior ad-
ernment is on pace to ministrations.
match or exceed last year's In this July 8, 2019, file photo President Donald Trump listens as then-Secretary of the Interior Da- Interior's inspector general
total of $3.4 billion, the most vid Bernhardt speaks during an event on the environment in the East Room of the White House in launched an investigation
since 2010, according to Washington. of Bernhardt earlier this
the political money website Associated Press year after receiving seven
Open Secrets. Trump also separate ethics allegations
has pulled in hefty contri- firmation hearing before ing lobbyists from being ap- of business interests chal- against him. A complaint
butions from industries with a GOP-controlled Senate pointed to a post at a fed- lenging labor and financial filed by the nonprofit Cam-
business before his admin- committee is scheduled for eral agency they'd lobbied regulations. Scalia, the son paign Legal Center alleged
istration, and his hotel near Thursday and Democrats within the last two years. of the late Supreme Court that shortly after joining
the White House has been are expected to grill him on While this "cooling off" pe- Justice Antonin Scalia, the department in August
a magnet for lobbyists and his long record of opposing riod was cast aside, Trump's served for a year as the La- 2017 Bernhardt became in-
foreign interests since he federal regulations . order continued to bar for bor Department's top law- volved in matters that were
was elected. A seventh ex-lobbyist, Dan two years lobbyists-turned- yer during the George W. the focus of his lobbying for
"An administration staffed Coats, resigned as Trump's government-employees Bush administration. California's Westlands Wa-
by former industry lobbyists intelligence chief in August. from participating in par- His financial disclosure re- ter District that lasted until
will almost certainly favor President Barack Obama ticular matters that they'd port lists 49 clients who paid mid-November 2016.
industry over the general had five former lobbyists lobbied on during the two him $5,000 or more for legal Westlands has federal con-
public, because that's the in his Cabinet during two preceding years. services, including e-ciga- tracts to provide irrigation
outlook they're bringing to terms in office and Presi- "Without the cooling off pe- rette giant Juul Labs, Face- water to 700 family-owned
the job," said Lee Drutman, dent George W. Bush had riod, these Cabinet heads book, Walmart and Bank farms in the fertile San Joa-
a senior fellow in the politi- three, also during eight appear to be serving their of America. Disclosure re- quin Valley. The complaint
cal reform program at the years in the White House, former employers' and cli- cords show Scalia was reg- said Bernhardt had "lob-
think tank New America according to lobbying and ents' special interests," said istered in 2010 and 2011 to bied on discrete provisions
and author of the book foreign agent disclosure re- Virginia Canter, chief ethics lobby for the U.S. Chamber of a law directing Interior to
"The Business of America is cords. The review was lim- counsel of the watchdog of Commerce. maximize water supplies to
Lobbying." ited to the Trump, Obama group Citizens for Respon- Pizzella has been the act- his clients, and to minimize
Former lobbyists run the and Bush administrations sibility and Ethics in Wash- ing secretary since Alex- Endangered Species Act
Defense and Interior de- because prior to 1995 there ington. ander Acosta resigned the protections in that region."
partments, Environmental was no central database The White House did not im- post in July amid renewed Then, after joining Interior,
Protection Agency and of- of federal lobbying regis- mediately respond to a re- criticism of how, as a fed- Bernhardt breached his
fice of the U.S. Trade Rep- trations and the law was quest for comment. eral prosecutor, he han- ethics pledge by directing
resentative. The acting La- hazy about who was sup- Trump's Cabinet includes dled a 2008 secret plea government officials un-
the heads of the 15 execu- deal with wealthy finan- der him "to advance the
tive departments and sev- cier Jeffrey Epstein. In the particular matters he had
en other senior-level posts, late 1990s and early 2000s, previously lobbied on," ac-
such as EPA administrator Pizzella lobbied for clients cording to the complaint.
and director of national in- that ranged from Micro- "It is very hard to tell where
telligence. Obama's Cabi- soft Corp. to the Mississippi Bernhardt's lobbying ca-
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Scalia, the Labor Depart- lobbyist Jack Abramoff, al- of the Campaign Legal
ment nominee, has spent though Pizzella was never Center's federal reform
much of his career as a accused of any miscon- program.q