White House Continues Ban On Lobbyists -- Sort Of

The White House aspires to keep registered lobbyists from sitting on agency advisory boards and commissions but will not place a full ban on their appointments, according to the Washington Post.

The Post reports that Norm Eisen, the president's ethics adviser, informed executive branch agencies on Wednesday that they should avoid bringing federally-registered lobbyists onto panels and commissions. The president's executive order banning lobbyists from appointed positions does not apply to lower-level positions on advisory boards.

"The President made a commitment to the American people to reduce the influence of lobbyists in Washington out of a belief that lobbyists have too often in the past achieved disproportionate impact on government decision makers at the expense of broader voices from the public at large," Eisen wrote. "If we are going to change the way business is done in Washington, we need to make sure we are not simply continuing the practices of the past."

-- Jenna Staul