Capitol Hill’s Oddest Couple Unites to Ban Lobbying by Former Members

Capitol Hill’s Oddest Couple Unites to Ban Lobbying by Former Members
Then-Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) jokes with journalists as he heads into a Democratic caucus meeting in Washington on Nov. 14, 2018. After losing his seat to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the 2018 elections, Crowley signed up as a lobbyist. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Mark Tapscott
Mark Tapscott
Senior Congressional Correspondent
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WASHINGTON—Sen. Ted Cruz, the very conservative Texas Republican, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic socialist from New York, have found a legendary political needle in a haystack—their shared antipathy to lobbying by former congressmen.

Their surprise alliance came May 30 via a Twitter exchange, sparked by a Public Citizen report that found 26 of 44 former members (or 59 percent) who left Congress after 2018 are now working in the nation’s capital for lobbying firms, lobbying consultancies, trade groups, or business associations.
Mark Tapscott
Mark Tapscott
Senior Congressional Correspondent
Mark Tapscott is an award-winning senior Congressional correspondent for The Epoch Times. He covers Congress, national politics, and policy. Mr. Tapscott previously worked for Washington Times, Washington Examiner, Montgomery Journal, and Daily Caller News Foundation.
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