Biden, despite rhetoric to the contrary, rakes in lobbyist cash

President Joe Biden has repeatedly pledged not to take campaign contributions from lobbyists, but his latest campaign filing shows plenty of lobbyists and influence peddlers among his donors.

Biden, it seems, does try to avoid donations from currently registered federal lobbyists, which was also the policy of his former boss, Barack Obama. This leaves plenty of wiggle room. Obama, for instance, raked in plenty of cash from state-level lobbyists, spouses of lobbyists, owners and executives at lobbying firms, and lobbyists who simply didn’t admit they were lobbyists.