A Democratic lawmaker is introducing legislation that he says will help President-elect Donald Trump carry out his campaign promise to “drain the swamp.”
The archly named Drain the Swamp Act – or Deter Revolving-Door Appointments in Our Nation; Stop Washington Appointees from becoming Manipulative Petitioners – would put Trump’s executive branch proposal to curb influence peddling into law and would carry penalties.
Trump has said he wants to clean up the federal government by stopping the revolving door that allows White House officials to cash in on their government service by banning ex-Trump administration officials from lobbying for five years after leaving the administration. They’d also be banned for life from lobbying for foreign nations.
But, as Rep. Peter DeFazio, R-Oregon, noted on the House floor, Trump’s executive action “lacks any enforcement mechanism” because there are no penalties.
The bill would “put some teeth behind his promise,” DeFazio said.
The proposal is highly unlikely to attract much support in the Republican-led chamber, but did allow DeFazio the opportunity to stand on the House floor and say he’d look to hold Trump to his promise.