Washington's biggest lobbyists are ready to help Donald Trump 'drain the swamp'

(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

published 10 November 2016

Many Washington lobbyists are giddy to have discovered themselves with the good fortune of an incoming President Trump and a Republican Congress. While some are eyeing the Republican sweep as an opportunity to at last break through Congressional gridlock, others are looking at Trump and his team's relative inexperience on Capitol Hill as an in.

"There are going to be a lot of companies and people looking for guidance in how to deal with the legislative and executive branch," Trent Lott, a former senator and current lobbyist of Squire Patton Boggs, told The New York Times. Among his friends he counts Sen. Jeff Sessions, who has been discussed as a possible defense secretary for Trump, as well as Rick Dearborn, a senior policy adviser to Trump, and David Hoppe, the chief of staff to Paul Ryan. "I am looking forward to it," Lott went on. So are many others:

[Marc S.] Lampkin, a former Republican aide on Capitol Hill, had fielded so many phone calls on Wednesday from his clients that his voice had turned raspy with fatigue. "There is a lot of pent-up demand to break the gridlock in Washington," he said.Prominent Washington lobbyists also said that Mr. Trump would arrive in the capital with a much smaller contingent of veteran policy advisers than Hillary Clinton would have brought — and they see that relative inexperience as an opening. So they are prepared to draft legislation and regulations to quietly pass to allies on Capitol Hill and in the White House. [The New York Times]

"Trump has pledged to change things in Washington — about draining the swamp,” Lott added. "He is going to need some people to help guide him through the swamp — how do you get in and how you get out? We are prepared to help do that."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.