Lobbyists face challenges meeting newly elected lawmakers in November
Lobbyists face challenges meeting newly elected lawmakers in November
© Greg Nash
Lobbyists are preparing for the difficulty of virtually getting to know newly elected members of Congress when they come to Washington for orientation next month.
A victory by Democratic nominee Joe Biden would make that task even harder given the influx of new aides and administration officials.
In all, lobbyists could find themselves navigating the challenges of trying to meet new leadership, committee, agency and administration staffers in a pandemic without in-person meetings or the fundraisers that typically populate K Street's calendar shortly after a general election.
“Like in any new Congress, there will be a rush to meet newly elected members and their staff starting as soon as the election is over through the first part of the year. The pandemic will certainly make this more challenging,” said Stu Van Scoyoc, CEO of Van Scoyoc Associates.
Newly elected members typically come to Washington in mid-November for a few frantic days of orientation, when lobbyists have the opportunity to hold events to meet them in person. There has been no final word yet on what orientation this year will look like.
“I expect, very much so in the coming months following the Nov. 3 election, that Zoom and the video conferencing will continue even though folks are very much Zoomed out,” said Andrew Kauders, managing director at Cogent Strategies. “We used to have meet-and-greets at the firm with members and new members. We are likely to transition that to Zoom so clients can meet new members virtually.”
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://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/521119-lobbyists-face-challenges-meeting-newly-elected-lawmakers-in-november