Washington is famous for its revolving door, and more than a dozen former members of the Virginia congressional delegation became lobbyists after leaving office.
George Allen and Eric Cantor are both former members of Congress who represented the 7th Congressional District. After leaving office, both went through the revolving door of Washington politics to leverage their access to power. Now, the current congressman who represents that district wants to close the revolving door. Eugene Vindman has a bill that would prohibit former members of Congress from lobbying directly or even indirectly serving as a consultant or strategic advisor.
"Americans don't trust politicians and I can't blame them with all the scandals and self-dealing D.C," Vindman says. "So, I'm proud to lead this piece of bipartisan legislation to ban members of the Congress from lobbying."
A list of all the former members of Congress who became registered lobbyists or professional influencers is available on the website of the nonpartisan group Open Secrets, where Hilary Braseth is executive director.
"There is certainly controversy about those who depart publicly elected office and go on to make million-dollar plus salaries by leveraging relationships to lobby on behalf of corporations or corporate interests," Braseth says. "And so, because members of Congress might have this in the back of their minds while they are governing, we see it as an important vector to track and make public and transparent."
Sometimes people go through the revolving door more than once. Elaine Luria and Tom Perriello are former members of Congress from Virginia listed in the Open Secrets database. Now, both are candidates hoping to return to office this fall.
