Revolving Door

Romney Hires Army of Lobbyists

As advisers and fundraisers.

For a campaign running against Washington insiders, Mitt Romney’s team contains a lot of lobbyists. Romney’s kitchen cabinet includes a lobbyist for Walmart and AT&T, a representative of Pfizer, and a managing partner for Clark & Weinstock. Almost 300 lobbyists have donated at least $401,000 to Romney’s campaigns, plus 16 “bundlers” representing Microsoft, the tobacco company Altria, and Wall Street have raised more than $2 million. Other lobbyists have hosted fundraisers and serve as policy advisers. While President Obama doesn’t accept campaign contributions from registered lobbyists, at least 15 of his bundlers work at lobbying and consulting companies but have not registered as lobbyists.