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| Senate exit: Sen. Trent Lott (R) of Mississippi said Monday he would resign his post before January. Alex Brandon/AP |
With Lott's exit, fresh buzz over lobby rules
The senator's announcement that he'll soon leave office triggers new complaints about the 'revolving door' to K Street lobbyists.
from the November 28, 2007 edition
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"The line between lobbying and consulting has always been left intentionally ambiguous by Congress," says Jonathan Turley, a professor at the George Washington University Law School. "It's the most important loophole to many members."
He adds, "The new cooling-off period is unlikely to make a significant impact on the revolving-door problem. If Congress really wanted to do that, they should more carefully define the meaning of lobbying."
Since 1998, about 43 percent of lawmakers who left office have become lobbyists, according to 2005 report by Public Citizen's Congress Watch. In the Senate, half of eligible departing members become lobbyists.
When Sen. Albert "Happy" Chandler (D), who resigned in 1945 to become commissioner of Major League Baseball, was asked why he was leaving the Senate midterm, "he whispered his new salary, which was three times his Senate salary," says Senate historian Donald Richey. Today, the gap between a senator's annual salary, $162,500, and compensation on K Street can be much higher.
"For a top Senate aide with connections, starting pay as a lobbyist could be more than $300,000. And for a recent ex-senator and long-time majority leader [such as Lott], the number might be more like $1 million," says Michael Munger, a political scientist at Duke University in Durham, N.C.
Institutional know-how counts
Even though Republicans are currently the minority party on the Hill, one with Lott's experience can be a valuable asset to clients seeking to influence legislative outcomes, especially in the Senate where a single member with an understanding of the institution can block things.
"If you want to move things in the House, you need to get to leadership. But what a lot of corporations want is to prevent things they see as harmful. If you want to block legislation, a real knowledge of Senate rules is invaluable, and Trent Lott has deep strategic knowledge," adds Mr. Munger.
Nearly five years after resigning as Senate majority leader over a remark that many viewed as racist, Lott had worked his way back into GOP leadership and the respect of colleagues.
He had considered not running for reelection in 2006, but said that the devastation to his home state wrought by hurricane Katrina helped to change his mind.
"They didn't quit, so I couldn't quit," he said Monday at the briefing. But now, he said, he and his wife, Tricia, "do think that there is time left for us to maybe do something else."
Lott is the sixth senator in the current Congress to announce retirement or resignation – and all are Republicans.
In the House, 12 Republicans and two Democrats have announced that they will be retiring in 2008. In addition, former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R) of Illinois made his resignation official, effective on Monday.
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