Obama better break out those waivers pretty quick. A group of mostly left-leaning government watchdog groups are asking senators not to confirm Deputy Sec. of Defense nominee William Lynn due to his lobbying ties to defense contractor Raytheon:
Several Washington watchdog groups have ratcheted up pressure on Levin and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the panel’s ranking Republican, to not confirm Lynn because of Obama’s ethics rules. In a letter dated Friday to Levin and McCain the groups stressed that Lynn cannot serve “effectively” as the Pentagon’s No. 2 because he was a lobbyist for Raytheon in the last two years. They also said they would oppose a waiver, which they declared would violate Obama’s new “revolving door” rules. The Project On Government Oversight (POGO), Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Government Accountability Project (GAP) and Public Citizen signed the letter.
The waivers for lobbyists Press Secretary Robert Gibbs suggested yesterday may have to be plentiful, as yet another former lobbyists has been tapped as the No. 2 at Interior. Although, he hasn’t lobbied as recently as Lynn:
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