Trump Isn't Draining The Swamp. He’s Hiding It.

WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump promised during his campaign to “drain the swamp” in Washington by cracking down on lobbyists who move into government jobs and back again. But now Trump’s White House has sought to block the government’s top ethics official from getting certain information about ex-lobbyists working in his administration. That means the public doesn’t know if all staffers are abiding by Trump’s own ethics pledge — or whether they’re working to enrich their previous clients.

Trump signed an executive order in January banning executive branch appointees from working on a “particular matter” they lobbied on within the two previous years. The ban lasts for two years from the employee’s appointment. The order also banned executive appointees from lobbying the agencies where they worked for five years after they leave office. But the Trump administration has broad power to grant exceptions, called waivers, to this rule, and Trump’s team is trying to keep them secret.