COVID Lobbying: How former aides to Trump, congressional leaders lobbied their bosses amid the pandemic
 

For Immediate Release:

Contact: Brendan Quinn, 202-354-0110, [email protected]

WASHINGTON, August 19, 2020 — Over 1,000 clients dispatched lobbyists with close ties to President Donald Trump or the top four congressional leaders through the first half of 2020. About 40 percent of those clients reported lobbying on issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. A new report, crafted by OpenSecrets Journalist Karl Evers-Hillstrom and Senior Researcher Dan Auble, takes an in-depth look at these lobbyists and their ties to top-level government officials.

Their findings, which can be further examined using the OpenSecrets Lobbying Database and Revolving Door section, include the following:

• Through the first half of this year, 551 clients deployed lobbyists who previously worked for President Donald Trump.
   
• Another 275 clients deployed lobbyists who previously were aides to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, while 232 deployed lobbyists who previously were aides to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
   
• The CARES Act and the HEROES Act emerged as the second and fourth most lobbied non-appropriation bills of all time, respectively.
   
• Most pharmaceutical companies that received contracts to produce COVID-19 vaccines deployed lobbyists tied to Trump or congressional leadership.
   
• While lobbying spending declined in the second quarter, top K Street firms saw an increase in revenue, mostly from an influx of new clients.
  
   

Read the report here
 

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Nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, the Center for Responsive Politics is the nation’s premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. Founded in 1983, CRP’s vision is for Americans to be empowered by access to clear and unbiased information about money’s role in politics and policy and to use that knowledge to strengthen our democracy.