“Former campaign aides, fundraisers and others with ties to President Trump and Vice President Pence have attracted dozens of new lobbying clients in Washington, raking in more than $2.2 million in lobbying fees in the first months of the administration,” a USA Today analysis shows.

“Some of President Donald Trump’s former campaign hands are rushing to sign lucrative deals with foreign clients, shrugging off their own pledges to avoid foreign lobbying and the president’s vow to drain the swamp,” Politico reports.

“Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, whose partner, Barry Bennett, had said last year that their new firm wouldn’t lobby for foreign nations, is among those searching for foreign gold. Lewandowski and Bennett are actively seeking to represent foreign governments and consult on overseas elections, and members of the firm have met in recent weeks with officials from Albania and Kosovo.”

“Despite President-elect Donald Trump’s much-publicized efforts to keep lobbyists out of his administration, they have continued to offer policy advice, recommend job candidates and contribute money to his transition team,” according to a Politico investigation.

“And while they’re barred from donating to the $200 million in inaugural festivities this week, lobbyists have been collecting checks on Trump’s behalf.”

Politico: “A growing number of Donald Trump’s allies are rushing straight to K Street to cash in, despite the president-elect’s pledge to restrain the industry, and their prized connections could draw huge paydays. Legitimate ties to Trump and his inner circle are exceedingly rare – and coveted – in a lobbying industry where many established GOP players kept their distance from Trump, or defiantly opposed him, during the bitter primary. Bona fide Trump insiders can expect offers of at least $450,000 a year downtown, according to a person familiar with efforts to recruit them as lobbyists.”

Meanwhile, Politico notes the same is not true for Democrats, as thousands of Obama appointees join the hundreds of Clinton campaign staffers looking for employment: “There’s rarely been less demand for their services.”

Politico: “All presidents back away from some of their most dramatic campaign promises. But seven years into Obama’s presidency, the revolving door shuttling officials out of his administration is spinning at a rapid clip, and Obama has seen his campaign promise founder against the deeply ingrained culture of selling government expertise in Washington.”

The New York Times reports on how “the very richest Americans have financed a sophisticated and astonishingly effective apparatus for shielding their fortunes.”

“Operating largely out of public view — in tax court, through arcane legislative provisions and in private negotiations with the Internal Revenue Service — the wealthy have used their influence to steadily whittle away at the government’s ability to tax them. The effect has been to create a kind of private tax system, catering to only several thousand Americans.”

Bloomberg: “Lobbyists around Washington have more than a handful of tactics to combat legislative threats to their clients. Some are as basic as meeting with lawmakers to explain their position. Others involve mustering seven-figure efforts that include a full deployment of public relations, consulting, grassroots, and legal pros.”

“But what happens when an industry’s revenues unexpectedly come under fire in a piece of legislation that is likely just months away from the president’s desk? The banking industry just laid out the lobbying roadmap.”