Monday, January 12, 2009 7:05 AM

Obama's First Crack in No-Lobbyist Pledge?

Over the past six months, as it became increasingly likely that Barack Obama would  become president, many people told me they didn't know how Obama would be able to fill top-level administration jobs without dipping into the pool of lobbyists who work in Washington. Obama, meanwhile, repeatedly said on the campaign trail that lobbyists "wouldn't run" his White House.

Right after the election, Obama's transition team made clear in a statement posted on its website that "political appointees in an Obama-Biden administration will not be permitted to work on regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to their prior employer for two years." 

Well, it appears that the Obama team may have found that two-year ban too restrictive.

Case in point. Late last week, Obama announced he would name William J. Lynn, III to fill the No. 2 position at the Defense Department under Defense Secretary William Gates. Lynn is a senior vice president for government relations at defense contractor Raytheon and was a registered federal lobbyist until at least June 30, 2008, according to lobbying disclosure documents filed with Congress. Lynn was not listed as a lobbyist in Raytheon's third quarter lobbying disclosures.

"We are aware that Mr. Lynn lobbied for Raytheon, and are working with Mr. Lynn to craft a role for him that is consistent with the President-elect's high standards while balancing the need to fill this critical national security position," Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor told the Associated Press in a Jan. 9 story.

So perhaps all it takes now to be "scrubbed" of your lobbying background is six months out of the profession.

We'll have more on this subject in future postings.

                                                                                                                     --Bara Vaida