John,

It’s hard to think of a better example of the revolving door than a lobbying firm saying they will “keep a seat warm” for someone holding a senior role in the federal government.

Not only was Donald Trump’s Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf told exactly that—his former firm was also lobbying DHS at the time. Read our new investigation into Chad Wolf’s email exchanges with senior employees and others linked to his former lobbying firm Wexler Walker.

Wolf also used his official DHS email to forward messages from employees at his former lobbying firm and personally connected multiple people with ties to the firm into government positions.

Wolf was a walking conflict of interest during the Trump administration, but he wasn’t the only one. Trump’s Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was one of the most ethically dubious members of Trump’s cabinet around the same time as Wolf, racking up 18 federal investigations in under two years and ultimately resigning amid the mounting misconduct allegations. He was followed by David Bernhardt, whose prior work as a former oil lobbyist led to an inspector general investigation for numerous complaints pointing to potential conflicts.

These exchanged favors and revolving doors are part of the wider corrupt system that operated during Trump’s presidency, and we’re still working to expose these conflicts and shed light on the corrupt actors he appointed.

Thanks for being in the fight,

The CREW Team

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