Bushies Break Records in Rush to K Street

Departing staffers of lame duck presidents have long filled the ranks of lobbying firms, but the Bush White House is providing K Street operatives in particularly high numbers, the Politico reports—raising a series of ethics questions about the revolving-door phenomenon. The key industries hiring outgoing Bushies are homeland security—seeking know-how on scoring a chunk of the new agency’s massive budget—and alternative energy.

Exiting senior officials must wait one year before lobbying their old agencies, but many of the 150 Bushies now on K Street are getting “creative about what the ban covers,” one professor said. Happily for undue-influence watchers, experts perceived as less ideological—those in, say, Treasury or Trade—have the best post-government prospects, the Politico writes, with knowledge prized above connections by lobbying firms. (More Bush administration stories.)