 Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn III testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg) |
Early on in his administration, Obama appointed several former lobbyists to administrative positions.
Attorney General Eric Holder was a registered lobbyist in the health and telecommunication industries from 2002 to 2004, and a partner at the law and lobbying firm Covington and Burling. Former Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn was a senior VP for the defense contractor Raytheon and a registered lobbyist for that company until 2008. Department of the Treasury Chief of Staff Mark Patterson, Timothy Geithner’s highest ranking employee, was a VP at Goldman Sachs. He was registered to lobby for the bank until he joined the Obama-Biden transition project in 2008. Vice President Biden’s Chief of Staff Ron Klain was also Al Gore’s chief of staff during the Clinton administration. During President Bush’s first term, Klain worked as a lobbyist for Melveny & Myers, where he represented political heavy hitters like Time Warner, U.S. Airways and Fannie Mae — where he reportedly helped the corporation overcome some “regulatory issues.” |
