281 lobbyists have worked in Trump administration: report
President Trump hired 281 lobbyists to his administration by the halfway point of his first term, which is four times more than President Obama hired six years into office.
One lobbyist was hired for every 14 political appointments made, according to a ProPublica and Columbia Journalism Investigations analysis released Tuesday.
Trump had named more ex-lobbyists to his cabinet by September than Obama and President Bush did in their eight years in the White House, The Associated Press reported at the time. That includes recent additions Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia and Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
{mosads}Former intelligence chief Dan Coats was a lobbyist for the firm King & Spalding before joining the administration and the firm announced on Tuesday he is rejoining after leaving his post in August.
The so-called revolving door is also moving quickly under Trump to bring officials into lobbyist posts.
The analysis named Rebecca Wood and Brooke Appleton, who held senior administration positions at the Food and Drug Administration and the Agriculture Department, respectively. Wood is now back at law and lobbying firm Sidley Austin, and Appleton is at the National Corn Growers Association.
Under Trump, agency officials are prevented from lobbying the agency they worked with for up to five years, but are allowed to lobby other government agencies.
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