Back in May, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) made headlines after a Twitter exchange between the two seemingly ended in an agreement to work together on a bipartisan bill that would ban former congressmembers from becoming lobbyists. As of August, The Fulcrum reports, they are still working on the bill, according to Cruz's staffers. However, there has been no update on the two lawmakers' efforts since. Are the senator's donors to blame?
In his response to Ocasio-Cortez's initial tweet, Cruz expressed agreement with the congresswoman that members of Congress should be banned for life from lobbying, claiming it was something he had "long called for." However, if that's the case, then why have there been no recent updates on the proposed bill's progress, nor its introduction? Perhaps it's because he has taken campaign contributions from congressmembers-turned-lobbyists.
In both of his Senate campaigns, in 2012 and 2018, Cruz was among the top recipients of lobbyist money. These included donations from former Sens. Al D'Amato (R-NY), founder of the lobbying firm Park Strategies, and Don Nickles (R-OK), founder of the Nickles Group, each of whom contributed $1,000 to the senator's respective campaigns, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In addition, Squire Patton Boggs, one of the top lobbying firms in the country, and whose lobbying arm is managed by former Sens. John Breaux (D-LA) and Trent Lott (R-MS), and includes former Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), contributed a total of $7,500 in PAC money to Cruz's Senate campaigns. Additionally, the PAC associated with K&L Gates, a lobbying firm of which former Reps. Bart Gordon (D-TN), John McHugh (R-NY), and Jim Walsh (R-NY), as well as former Sen. Slade Gorton (R-WA), are members, gave Cruz $9,000 over his two campaigns. Perhaps it's the case that Cruz's apparent inaction on this bill is due to his being beholden to the interests of the firms whose lobbying power he is trying to restrict.
So, will Cruz and Ocasio-Cortez ever introduce this bill to close the revolving door between Congress and lobbying firms? Only time will tell. However, if the former's campaign donations are any indication, it is not likely he will stand up to the lobbying firms that employ, and are occasionally even founded by, the very people he claims he wants to restrict from the industry. If there is any advice for Ocasio-Cortez, it's that she should probably work on the bill herself, or with others who are not beholden to lobbying firms nor those who have gone through the revolving door.
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