The Great 2018 Cashout: Republicans Lamar Smith and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen cash out to Akin Gump

Akin Gump, by some measures the biggest lobbying firm in D.C., just snapped up two recently retired Republican congressmen. Former Reps. Lamar Smith and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen are joining Akin, the firm announced Monday, less than four days after the two left Congress. Akin touted the value these two recent public servants will provide to clients and clients-to-be.

"As Chairman of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, Rep. Lamar Smith oversaw roughly $40 billion in budgets for agencies with a primary focus on research and development," the firm wrote. Again, this is how a lobbying firm explains Smith's value. So if you wonder why Republicans, after campaigning on fiscal discipline, end up spending so much, here's one reason why: The more taxpayer money they control in Congress, the more lobbyist money they can rake in after Congress. Ros-Lehtinen said, "My move here builds so well on the work I have accomplished during my time in Congress …" So they consider their lobbying for special interests to be simply an extension of what they were doing in office. That hardly inspires confidence in the public-spiritedness of their public service.

Akin Gump's massive client list includes plenty of clients who cared about Smith's Science, Space, and Technology Committee, including the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, Chevron, Bloom Technology, PGE, and many more.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/the-great-2018-cashout-republicans-lamar-smith-and-ileana-ros-lehtinen-cash-out-to-akin-gump