Two More Lobbyists Go Into Supposedly Lobbyist-free Zone of Obama Administration

Obama grants two more lobbyists waivers
by Ian Swanson 03/10/09

President Obama has issued waivers allowing two appointees who were formally registered lobbyists to work for his administration.

The waivers ensure the two appointees can work for the administration under his executive order on ethics, which was intended to reform the revolving door between K Street and the government.

The waivers were provided for Jocelyn Frye, director of policy and projects in the Office of the First Lady, and Cecilia Munoz, director of intergovernmental affairs in the executive office of the president. The two waivers were announced on the White House blog Tuesday evening, which said the exceptions were granted under a “public interest” exemption of the executive order on ethics.

Munoz was a senior vice president for the National Council of La Raza, where she supervised all legislative and advocacy activities on the state and local levels. Munoz was heavily involved in the immigration battles in Congress in recent years, and is now a principal liaison to the Hispanic community for the administration.

Before joining the administration, Frye served as general counsel at the National Partnership for Women Families, where she directed the group’s workplace fairness program. The White House blog said Frye, an expert on employment law, had worked with federal agencies as a technical expert, and had testified before Congress and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on federal enforcement of employment discrimination laws.

Obama has made about 800 appointments to the executive branch so far. The only other waiver was granted to Bill Lynn, a Defense Department appointee who worked as a lobbyist for Raytheon, the defense contractor.


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My Thoughts

Does Obama even mean what he promises? Two more lobbyists go into the supposedly lobbyist-free zone of the administration.