Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Zinke the latest to skirt ‘drain the swamp’ pledge

At least 33 people who have left the Trump administration have started lobbying – violating the spirit, if not always the letter, of the "drain the swamp" pledge Donald Trump touted when his presidency began. The terms of the pledge stated top officials could not to lobby their former agencies for five years after leaving the government, could not lobby the White House or any other political appointees until the Trump presidency ended, and could not even facilitate meetings or provide background to other lobbyists.

The roster was assembled by Pro Publica – just as Ryan Zinke, the former Interior secretary, gave the issue new prominence by signing up to work at Turnberry Solutions, a lobby shop started two years ago by Corey Lewandowski and several other former Trump advisors.


Pro Publica found at least 18 onetime Trump officials have registered as lobbyists, while the others work at lobbying or advocacy law firms. Almost all work on issues they oversaw or helped shape when they were in government. Nearly 2,600 officials signed the ethics pledge in 2017, according to the Office of Government Ethics; just 25 did not. In theory the consequences for violating the pledge are fines and a permanent ban from registering a lobbyist.

Some former officials "are tiptoeing around the rules," the site reported, by saying they are doing consulting work that is not strictly the same as lobbying. Others say they got special waivers to get out of their pledges and some of the 33 were among those who did not sign initially. (The House Democrats' HR 1 aims to close some of the loopholes that have been around since before the Trump pledge.)

Read More

U.S. President Donald Trump walks towards Marine One on the South Lawn on May 1, 2025 in Washington, DC.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks towards Marine One on the South Lawn on May 1, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Getty Images, Andrew Harnik

Congress Bill Spotlight: National Garden of American Heroes, As Trump Proposed

The Fulcrum introduces Congress Bill Spotlight, a weekly report by Jesse Rifkin, focusing on the noteworthy legislation of the thousands introduced in Congress. Rifkin has written about Congress for years, and now he's dissecting the most interesting bills you need to know about, but that often don't get the right news coverage.

What do Kobe Bryant, Dr. Seuss, Walt Disney, Alex Trebek, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg have in common?

Keep ReadingShow less
Democracy on the Edge—And How We Bring It Back

Democracy on the Edge—And How We Bring It Back

Democracy on the Edge—And How We Bring It Back

Welcome to the latest edition of The Expand Democracy 5. With Rob Ritchie and Eveline Dowling’s help, we highlight timely links and stories about democracy at the local, national, and global levels. Today's stories include:

🧨 The psychology of political violence in America

Keep ReadingShow less
Just the Facts: Using the Military to Stop Riots

National Guard

File footage

Just the Facts: Using the Military to Stop Riots

The Fulcrum strives to approach news stories with an open mind and skepticism, striving to present our readers with a broad spectrum of viewpoints through diligent research and critical thinking. As best we can, remove personal bias from our reporting and seek a variety of perspectives in both our news gathering and selection of opinion pieces. However, before our readers can analyze varying viewpoints, they must have the facts.

Before President Trump called up the military to stop the L.A. riots this week, has the military ever been called upon to stop protests in the United States?

Keep ReadingShow less
Defining the Democracy Movement: John Bridgeland
- YouTube

Defining the Democracy Movement: John Bridgeland

The Fulcrum presents The Path Forward: Defining the Democracy Reform Movement. Scott Warren's interview series engages diverse thought leaders to elevate the conversation about building a thriving and healthy democratic republic that fulfills its potential as a national social and political game-changer. This initiative is the start of focused collaborations and dialogue led by The Bridge Alliance and The Fulcrum teams to help the movement find a path forward.

John Bridgeland is the CEO and Executive Chair of More Perfect and former Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council under President George W. Bush. More Perfect is a recently launched bipartisan initiative designed to engage a wide range of institutions and Americans in the work of protecting and renewing American Democracy.

Keep ReadingShow less