华盛顿——与总统有联系的40名游说者唐纳德·特朗普根据一份报告，帮助客户获得超过100亿美元的联邦冠状病毒援助，其中包括五名前政府官员，他们的工作可能违反特朗普自己的道德政策。
监督团体“公众公民”(Public Civil)周一确定的游说者要么在特朗普的行政部门工作，要么在他的竞选活动中服务，要么是为就职庆典筹集资金的委员会的一部分，要么是他的总统过渡的一部分。许多人是特朗普竞选活动的捐助者，一些人是他连任的多产资金筹集者。
其中包括布莱恩·巴拉德(Brian Ballard)，他曾在过渡时期任职，是共和党全国委员会的财务主席，并为特朗普的筹款委员会筹集了100多万美元。今年3月，在国土安全部发布了不将自助洗衣店列为在封锁期间可以继续营业的基本业务的指导意见后，他被商业洗衣机供应商洗衣店雇佣。一周后，政府发布了新的指南，将自助洗衣店列入名单。
特朗普的顾问和心腹戴夫·厄本(Dave Urban)今年已经收取了超过230万美元的游说费用。他领导的公司，美国大陆集团，在冠状病毒问题上代表了15家公司，包括沃尔格林和终极格斗锦标赛的母公司。
特朗普承诺用“排出沼泽”的竞选口号来压制华盛顿的影响力。但在他执政期间，游说行业蓬勃发展，一旦国会通过超过3.6万亿美元的冠状病毒刺激方案，这一趋势就会加剧。
虽然这笔钱是作为一个国家的生命线，这个国家的经济已经被大流行所颠覆，但它也引发了一个熟悉的游说热潮。
该报告的作者之一迈克·坦格利斯说:“华盛顿特区的沼泽地生机勃勃。“这些人正在经历的游说热潮，你真的可以把他们归因于他们与特朗普的关系。”
白宫没有回应置评请求。
特朗普上任后不久，他发布了一项行政命令，禁止前政府官员在五年内游说他们以前任职的机构或办公室。该命令的另一部分禁止前政治任命者在特朗普剩余任期内游说政府。
然而，在冠状病毒游说热潮期间，前政府官员中的五名游说者有可能做到了这一点:
——2017年和2018年，考特尼·劳伦斯曾是卫生与公众服务部主管立法的副助理部长。她于2018年成为Cigna的游说者，并被列为游说HHS、医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心以及至少两个其他机构的团队成员。Cigna没有回应置评请求。
——前白宫顾问唐·麦克甘的妻子香农·麦克甘曾在2017年和2018年担任财政部长史蒂文·姆努钦的顾问。随后，她作为最高游说者加入了美国房地产经纪人协会，并作为游说国会参众两院以及包括财政部在内的六个机构的团队的一员被列入披露名单。房地产经纪人协会没有回应置评请求。
——乔丹·斯托伊克是全国制造商协会政府关系部的副主席。斯托伊克在不结盟运动网站上的传记显示，他是“不结盟运动在华盛顿的首席说客”，他在财政部担任高级顾问后开始在那里工作。披露显示，斯托伊克和他的同事游说了国会两院以及至少五个行政分支机构，包括财政部。
该组织的总法律顾问琳达·凯利(Linda Kelly)在一份声明中表示:“不结盟运动严格遵守管理游说活动的法律和道德准则，包括确保其员工遵守所有适用的禁令，不得与前雇主联系。”。
——杰弗里·伯尔在担任交通部长赵小兰的办公室主任后，加入了布朗斯坦·凯悦公司。该公司2020年第一季度的游说披露包括代表麦当劳就冠状病毒相关事宜联系白宫和国会的游说者名单上的伯尔。
——艾米丽·菲尔德在离开医疗保险和医疗补助服务中心后加入了布朗斯坦·凯悦，她在那里的立法办公室工作。费尔德被列入2020年第一季度的披露名单，显示她是游说国会和白宫的团队的一员。
该公司的一名女发言人表示，费尔德和伯尔都遵守特朗普政府的道德准则，这些准则限制了他们对众议院和参议院的游说。
发言人劳拉·戴在一份声明中表示:“我们相信，我们的游说者遵守了所有的游说规则和适用的禁令，没有违反他们在特朗普政府的承诺。”。
公民克雷格·霍尔曼(Craig Holman)本人是一名注册说客，他表示，该组织打算向白宫提出道德投诉。但是他并不乐观，他们会导致任何事情。去年，他提出了30多项投诉，这些投诉要么被忽视，要么被驳回。
“似乎没有人在执行行政命令，”霍尔曼说。
Trump-connected lobbyists reap windfall in COVID-19 boom
WASHINGTON -- Forty lobbyists with ties to PresidentDonald Trumphelped clients secure more than $10 billion in federal coronavirus aid, among them five former administration officials whose work potentially violates Trump's own ethics policy, according to a report.
The lobbyists identified Monday by the watchdog group Public Citizen either worked in the Trump executive branch, served on his campaign, were part of the committee that raised money for inaugural festivities or were part of his presidential transition. Many are donors to Trump’s campaigns, and some are prolific fundraisers for his reelection.
They include Brian Ballard, who served on the transition, is the finance chair for the Republican National Committee and has bundled more than $1 million for Trump's fundraising committees. He was hired in March by Laundrylux, a supplier of commercial laundry machines, after the Department of Homeland Security issued guidance that didn't include laundromats as essential businesses that could stay open during the lockdown. A week later, the administration issued new guidance adding laundromats to the list.
Dave Urban, a Trump adviser and confidant, has collected more than $2.3 million in lobbying fees this year. The firm he leads, American Continental Group, represents 15 companies, including Walgreens and the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, on coronavirus issues.
Trump pledged to clamp down on Washington's influence peddling with a “drain the swamp” campaign mantra. But during his administration, the lobbying industry has flourished, a trend that intensified once Congress passed more than $3.6 trillion in coronavirus stimulus.
While the money is intended as a lifeline to a nation whose economy has been upended by the pandemic, it also jump-started a familiar lobbying bonanza.
“The swamp is alive and well in Washington, D.C.,” said Mike Tanglis, one of the report’s authors. “These (lobbying) booms that these people are having, you can really attribute them to their connection to Trump.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Shortly after Trump took office, he issued an executive order prohibiting former administration officials from lobbying the agency or office where they were formerly employed, for a period of five years. Another section of the order forbids lobbying the administration by former political appointees for the remainder of Trump's time in office.
Yet five lobbyists who are former administration officials have potentially done just that during the coronavirus lobbying boom:
— Courtney Lawrence was a former deputy assistant secretary for legislation in the Department of Health and Human Services in 2017 and 2018. She became a lobbyist for Cigna in 2018 and is listed as part of a team that has lobbied HHS, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and at least two other agencies. Cigna did not respond to a request for comment.
— Shannon McGahn, the wife of former White House counsel Don McGahn, worked in 2017 and 2018 as a counselor to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. She then joined the National Association of Realtors as its top lobbyist and is listed on disclosures as part of a team that has lobbied both houses of Congress, plus six agencies, including the Treasury Department. The Realtors association did not respond to a request for comment.
— Jordan Stoick is the vice president of government relations at the National Association of Manufacturers. Stoick’s biography on NAM’s website indicates that he is “NAM’s lead lobbyist in Washington," where he started working after serving as a senior adviser in the Treasury Department. Disclosures indicate that Stoick and his colleagues lobbied both houses of Congress plus at least five executive branch agencies, including Treasury.
“NAM carefully adheres to the legal and ethical rules regulating lobbying activity, including ensuring that its employees comply with all applicable prohibitions on contacting their former employers," Linda Kelly, the organization's general counsel, said in a statement.
— Geoffrey Burr joined the firm Brownstein Hyatt after serving as chief of staff to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. The firm’s lobbying disclosure for the first quarter of 2020 includes Burr on a list of lobbyists who contacted the White House and Congress on coronavirus-related matters on behalf of McDonald’s.
— Emily Felder joined Brownstein Hyatt after leaving the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where she worked in the legislative office. Felder is listed on a disclosure from the first quarter of 2020 that shows she was part of a team that lobbied Congress and the White House.
A spokeswoman for the firm said both Felder and Burr abide by the Trump administration's ethics rules, which limit their lobbying to the House and the Senate.
“We are confident that our lobbyists are in compliance with all lobbying rules and applicable prohibitions and did not violate their Trump Administration pledge," spokeswoman Lara Day said in a statement.
Public Citizen's Craig Holman, who himself is a registered lobbyist, said the group intends to file ethics complaints with the White House. But he's not optimistic that they will lead to anything. Last year, he filed more than 30 complaints, all of which were either ignored or rejected.
"There does not appear to be anyone who is enforcing the executive order,” Holman said.
