100 Former US Lawmakers Registered as Foreign Lobbyists Since 2000

The majority, 85 percent, have lobbied for regimes rated as not free or partially free by Freedom House. Top employers include Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Libya, Qatar, Russia, and China, with South Korea and Taiwan as the only free-rated nations in the top ten.

The report detailed specific examples of former lawmakers' involvement in foreign lobbying. Former Sen. Norm Coleman, now a lobbyist for Saudi Arabia through Hogan Lovells, testified at Pete Hegseth's confirmation hearing for secretary of defense without disclosing his ties.

Coleman, who received compensation from the firm that earned $3 million from the Saudi Embassy in the prior year, praised Hegseth and criticized the Biden administration's handling of Yemen's Houthis.

Notable Cases and Clients Former Rep.

Ed Royce, who chaired the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has lobbied for 10 countries, including Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. In 2017, while in Congress, Royce used talking points from a Saudi lobbying firm during arguments against ending US support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

After leaving office in 2019, he joined Brownstein, which earned $1.8 million from Saudi Arabia that year, and began direct lobbying after the one-year cooling-off period. Former Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, another former House Foreign Affairs Committee chair, lobbies for the United Arab Emirates.

She hosted a US-UAE business reception in Miami in January, promoting opportunities with UAE diplomats and trade officials. Ros-Lehtinen stated in a Justice Department filing that she shifted from skepticism to appreciation of the UAE's importance to US interests.

“Yes, Pete Hegseth is an out of the box nominee. I say it's high time to get out of the box." — Norm Coleman, during Pete Hegseth's confirmation hearing (Responsible Statecraft). Former Gov. and Rep. Rod Blagojevich, pardoned by President Donald Trump in 2020 after corruption convictions, now lobbies for Republika Srpska, a Serb-controlled entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Blagojevich has published articles in the Washington Times and Daily Caller on behalf of his client, without disclosures of his paid status in those publications. Former Sen. Robert Torricelli, who served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, founded Rosemont Associates and has received $2.7 million from the National Council of Resistance of Iran since 2013. At a recent conference, Torricelli advocated for the NCRI and its leader Maryam Rajavi as a framework for a provisional government in Iran, following the group's delisting as a foreign terrorist organization.”

Experts cited in the analysis expressed concerns over the influence of such lobbying. Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist at Public Citizen, stated that authoritarian governments invest heavily in lobbying due to their frequent conflicts with US interests.

He advocated for prohibitions on former officials serving as lobbyists for a period sufficient to diminish their inside connections. Michael Beckel, director of the Money in Politics Reform program at Issue One, noted that former members of Congress are valued for their legislative knowledge, strategic insights, and government relationships.

He said foreign governments hire them expecting high returns on investment for advocacy in Washington.

“Former government officials should be prohibited from serving as lobbyists, at least for a sufficient time period that whittles away their inside connections." — Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist at Public Citizen (Responsible Statecraft). The analysis highlighted bipartisan efforts to address the issue. In 2019, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Brian Schatz, and Rep. Chip Roy agreed via social media to push for a lifetime ban on former members becoming lobbyists. Several bills have been introduced, including Ocasio-Cortez's Close the Revolving Door Act, Rep. Zachary Nunn's Ban Members from Becoming Lobbyists Act, and the bipartisan Fighting Foreign Influence Act sponsored by Rep. Jared Golden and Rep. Lance Gooden.”

Many had served on national security committees, providing them unique access and influence. Holman described the practice as anti-democratic, allowing former officials to leverage public service for private gain. The analysis urged Congress to pass reforms to ensure US policies serve public interests rather than foreign regimes.