On Thursday, The Washington Postreported that over two dozen alumni of the Trump campaign, transition team, and administration are now registered as lobbyists for clients with coronavirus-related business before the government.
"As lobbyists blitz Washington for a piece of the massive federal response to the global pandemic, a group of former Trump administration officials and campaign alumni are in the center of the action, helping private interests tap into coveted financial and regulatory relief programs," reported Michelle Ye Hee Lee, Tom Hamburger, and Anu Narayanswamy. "Businesses hit hard by the virus and health-care manufacturers seeking approval for their products have rushed to hire Trump alumni, who are leveraging their connections in a variety of ways — helping get their clients designated as 'essential' services and securing meetings at the White House and federal agencies on their behalf, federal filings show."
"In all, at least 25 former officials who once worked for the Trump administration, campaign or transition team are now registered as lobbyists for clients with coronavirus needs, according to The Washington Post’s analysis of federal lobbying records and employment data compiled by ProPublica," continued the report.
Among the clients is Dallas hotel magnate Monty Bennett, who hired former Trump inaugural vice chairman Jeff Miller and GOP fundraiser Roy Bailey to help him lobby for taxpayer relief funds.
"A few weeks after they came aboard, the companies together received the biggest windfall so far of any other publicly traded company: $126 million in loans from the Small Business Administration," said the report. "The companies said they needed the relief money to bring employees back to work and to help stabilize the hospitality industry."
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