Basic Vocabulary
This term describes people moving between government jobs and private industry jobs.
What is the revolving door?
People often leave the government to join companies in this sector, where military contracts are worth billions.
What is the defense industry?
This U.S. military headquarters is famous for officials leaving to join defense contractors.
What is the Pentagon?
This president signed ethics rules in 2009 to slow the revolving door.
Who is Barack Obama?
This private-sector job often uses government contacts to influence decisions.
What is lobbying?
This advantage former government workers have makes it easier for them to influence policies.
What is insider knowledge or personal connections?
The lobbyist who later went to work as Chief of Staff of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
Who is Andrew Wheeler?
Obama’s ethics rules were created in the form of this presidential tool.
What is an executive order?
The type of interest that happens when a government official benefits personally from a decision they make.
What is a conflict of interest?
One danger of the revolving door is that officials may shape policy based on this future plan.
What is getting a better job?
Government regulators from this department joined big banks after 2008.
What is the Treasury Department?
This rule kept new officials from working on issues involving their old employers for two years.
What is the ethics pledge?
This type of capture happens when an industry controls the agency meant to regulate it.
What is regulatory capture?
This financial disaster in 2008 revealed many officials switching from regulating banks to working for them.
What is the Financial Crisis?
This Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) job is supposed to regulate Wall Street but often rotates with it.
What is a financial regulator?
Obama banned former officials from doing this activity for the rest of his presidency.
What is lobbying his administration?
This group is supposed to be protected from unfair influence by the revolving door.
Who is the public?
What is it called when officials enforce rules more softly to impress future employers?
What is going easy on regulation for personal gain?
These people, who talk to the government for companies, often come from former government jobs.
Who are lobbyists?
This loophole allowed former officials to act like lobbyists without calling themselves lobbyists.
What are “consultants” or “strategic advisors”?