White House officials published a list of 16 staffers who received ethics waivers due to their previous political activity late Wednesday.
The waivers specifically named former chair of the Republican National Committee Reince Priebus, as well as former Political Consultant Kellyanne Conway, the announcement also included several former members of legal firm Jones Day and a few former lobbyists.
The allowance of the waivers means members of President Donald Trump’s administration can serve in the White House in policy areas familiar to them through other jobs.
Andrew Olmem worked as a lobbyist for financial policy with Venable L.L.P., and energy lobbyist with Devon Energy and Talen Energy Michael Catanzaro also received a waiver, according to The New York Times. The waivers also included investment lobbyist for Fidelity Investments Shahira Knight.
President Donald Trump announced a five-year lobbying ban on anyone who worked in the administration from lobbying members of Congress on any issue in January, an extension of a campaign promise to “drain the swamp” of Washington, DC.
Former President Barack Obama put rules in place that barred anyone from working on policy areas that they previously lobbied, or from communicating with their previous firms about their actions in the White House. The Obama administration filed 16 waivers of their own during the entire eight years of his tenure.
The waivers were released after a liberal ethics groups filed a complaint that former Breitbart editor Steve Bannon discussed White House business with members of Breitbart staff, according to the New York Times.
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