Trump’s ethics waivers grant ex-lobbyists wide influence

WASHINGTON — The batch of ethics waivers released by the White House offered more evidence of what everyone already knew: The Trump administration, despite pledges to “drain the swamp,” has embraced the revolving door between government and the private sector.

The waivers are more sweeping in scope than those of the Obama administration, and reveal that former lobbyists and other senior officials may freely take part in meetings and decisions that affect their former clients and one-time employers.

Ethics watchdogs and even some lobbyists decried the easy movement between K Street and the Trump administration. They said they worried that it could lead to government officials putting private interests ahead of the public and could also further erode public perception of what most lobbyists actually do.

“If they’re seen as catering to their former clients, then people are going to say, ‘It’s Washington for sale and it’s those damn lobbyists who are selling it,’” said Paul Miller, a lobbyist with Miller/Wenhold Capitol Strategies, who serves as president of the National Institute for Lobbying and Ethics. “We are going to be the ones who are demonized.”

The White House’s list of waivers released late Wednesday included one for Michael Catanzaro, a special assistant to the president for domestic energy and environmental policy, whose former clients at the CGCN Group included Noble Energy and MasterCard Worldwide. His role and those of other former lobbyists were already well known before this week’s disclosure.

Shahira Knight, a former Ways and Means staffer and ex-lobbyist for Fidelity Investments, also received a waiver, as did other former lobbyists. Knight is now special assistant to the president for tax and retirement policy, and has been involved in meetings on Capitol Hill about a tax overhaul.

Other senior officials including Kellyanne Conway and Reince Priebus, who were not registered lobbyists before joining the administration, received waivers so they can weigh in on issues that affect their former clients or employers.