“Former Rep. Steve Watkins (R-KS) is back in the U.S. Capitol, this time as a lobbyist,” the Kansas City Star reports.

“It is not uncommon for former members to become lobbyists… It’s more unusual when the former member served for only one-term after losing a primary while shrouded in allegations of voter fraud.”

“Watkins, a scandal magnet from the time he launched his campaign, entered a diversion agreement on three felony charges for voting in the wrong city council race in Topeka’s 2019 municipal election shortly after leaving office.”

“Kellyanne Conway, the former senior Trump aide, is being paid by the conservative Club for Growth to advocate for TikTok in Congress and has had at least 10 meetings with lawmakers in recent months about the app,” Politico reports.

“Republicans on Capitol Hill have hired far more former lobbyists to work in their offices than Democrats in the last year,” Insider reports.

“Data compiled by Legistorm — a website that closely tracks congressional staffers’ job movements and salaries — found that 61 of the 91 former lobbyists who took jobs in partisan offices on Capitol Hill in the last year were hired by Republicans. That amounts to a 64%-36% split.”

“Disney is preparing to take its fight with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his GOP allies in the state legislature to the next level,” CNBC reports.

“With just weeks until Florida’s legislative session ends, Disney is pushing lobbyists to step up their efforts to influence the Republican-controlled state legislature and to target land use related bills that could hurt the company, among other measures, said the people, who declined to be named in order to speak freely about the issues.”

“Almost exactly a month before a Norfolk Southern train derailed and spewed hazardous materials in eastern Ohio, the company gave the maximum $10,000 to help bankroll Gov. Mike DeWine’s inaugural festivities,” WSYX reports.

“An examination of state records shows this contribution, which is part of $29,000 the Virginia-based corporation has contributed to DeWine’s political funds since he first ran for governor in 2018, is merely one piece of an extensive, ongoing effort to influence statewide officials and Ohio lawmakers.”

NBC News: EPA orders Norfolk Southern to clean up Ohio train derailment site and pay all costs.

Former Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), who lost a Senate bid in Ohio last year, announced that he’s joining the leadership council of a political nonprofit that promotes the natural gas industry, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

“For many cooks, waiters and bartenders, it is an annoying entrance fee to the food-service business: Before starting a new job, they pay around $15 to a company called ServSafe for an online class in food safety,” the New York Times reports.

“But in taking the class, the workers — largely unbeknown to them — are also helping to fund a nationwide lobbying campaign to keep their own wages from increasing.”

The lobbyist son of congressman Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) was arrested for slapping a Miami city commissioner at a steakhouse, the Miami Herald reports.