Lobbying: Life After Congress
On May 1st, 2018, The Atlantic published an article titled, An Exodus from Congress Tests the Lure of Lobbying. In this publication, they look into the trends of what congressmen and women do once they are no longer congressmen and women. A position in U.S. Congress has never been for the faint of heart, however as Washington D.C. proves itself to be tumultuous as ever, The Atlantic states “more members of the House are forgoing reelection than in any year since 1992”. To be exact, Pew Research Center recorded that as of April 11th, 55 representatives have announced they will not be running for a new term in 2018. Twenty of those are running for other offices, 35 are retiring, and one is looking ahead at the presidential seat in 2020 (good luck, John Delaney!).
So, what does life look like after Capitol Hill? Well, according to The Atlantic’s historical research, it looks pretty similar. Many politicians choose to stay in the nation’s capital and implement change from the other side of the bill. “Of the nearly four dozen lawmakers who left office after the 2016 election, one-fourth stayed in Washington, and one in six became lobbyists, according to an analysis by The Atlantic. The numbers were even higher for those who departed after the 2014 midterms: About half of those former members stuck around, and around one in four became lobbyists.”
The Atlantic assures us that it’s too early to see where the 2018 retirees will end up, but we will be keeping an eye on all of Washington’s representatives through Lobbyists.Info, the one-stop resource for information on lobbying and government relations inside the Beltway and across the nation. From current and former legislative relationships to lobbying compliance and business development tools, Lobbyists.Info will have all the changes and turnovers first. Click here to check it out and never miss an update.
