Government Work Done, Tax Policy Writers Decamp to Lobbying Jobs

As businesses scramble to navigate the new tax law, they are recruiting the people who wrote it to help look for loopholes. More than a dozen people have moved on.

© Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times

A member of the audience at President Trump’s rally last week in Montana with a sign bearing one of Mr. Trump’s campaign promises. Upon taking office, Mr. Trump made moves to strengthen some lobbying restrictions but weakened others.

By ALAN RAPPEPORT, The New York Times
WASHINGTON

Six months after Republicans pushed a $1.5 trillion tax overhaul through Congress, many of the most influential players who worked behind the scenes on the legislation are no longer on Capitol Hill or in the Trump administration.

They are now lobbyists.

The two-way street between lobbying and lawmaking is well worn in Washington. But after President Trump’s campaign pledge to “drain the swamp,” there was some speculation that the so-called special interests might be sidelined. And while the frenetic two-month sprint last year to pass the tax legislation left some lobbyists marginalized, the businesses now scrambling to navigate the changes are increasingly recruiting the people who wrote it.
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Six months after Republicans pushed a $1.5 trillion tax overhaul through Congress, many of the most influential players who worked behind the scenes on the legislation are no longer on Capitol Hill or in the Trump administration.

They are now lobbyists.

The two-way street between lobbying and lawmaking is well worn in Washington. But after President Trump’s campaign pledge to “drain the swamp,” there was some speculation that the so-called special interests might be sidelined. And while the frenetic two-month sprint last year to pass the tax legislation left some lobbyists marginalized, the businesses now scrambling to navigate the changes are increasingly recruiting the people who wrote it.

Six months after Republicans pushed a $1.5 trillion tax overhaul through Congress, many of the most influential players who worked behind the scenes on the legislation are no longer on Capitol Hill or in the Trump administration.

They are now lobbyists.

The two-way street between lobbying and lawmaking is well worn in Washington. But after President Trump’s campaign pledge to “drain the swamp,” there was some speculation that the so-called special interests might be sidelined. And while the frenetic two-month sprint last year to pass the tax legislation left some lobbyists marginalized, the businesses now scrambling to navigate the changes are increasingly recruiting the people who wrote it.
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