Though President Obama promised when he took office in 2009 to "close the revolving door" admitting lobbyists into the White House, his administration has hosted regular communications meetings with about two dozen Democrats -- several of whom are registered lobbyists -- who regularly defend the president in the mainstream media.
USA Today reported that no less than four of these Democrats--Martin Frost, Penny Lee, Steve Elmendorf, David Goodfriend--are registered lobbyists, all of whom have previous ties to Congress or the White House. These four individuals have also brought clients to the White House, some of whom asked for tax breaks for U.S. financial companies.
Brendan Daly and Hilary Rosen, public relations consultants, were also attendants of the Obama administration’s regular communications meetings and have brought clients to the White House. In fact, Rosen, who infamously claimed on television in 2012 that Ann Romney "never worked a day in her life," insists that the White House solicited her for the client meetings.
In sum, these four lobbyists and two PR consultants have brought 31 different clients--General Electric, the American Wind Energy Association, and BP, among others--to the Obama White House for over 55 meetings since the president assumed office in 2009.
However, the administration maintains that Obama has delivered on his promise to curtail lobbying efforts in the president’s home.
"President Obama has done more in the past six years to close the revolving door of special interests than any president before him," White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz alleged.
The individuals in attendance at the administration’s communications meetings, meant to facilitate "outward engagement," Schultz said, have consistently defended Obama on topics such as Obamacare, the Islamic State (IS, also known ISIS and ISIL), and immigration in the media.
"Generally speaking, we value our external outreach and outward engagement--excluding outside voices from our consultations would be a narrow-minded approach to public service," Schultz explained.
The White House has hosted 16 of such meetings thus far in 2015.
One of the registered lobbyists, David Goodfriend, held a post as an aide in the Clinton administration.
"I am a friend of the White House," he told USA Today, saying that he has "defended the administration on TV."
Hillary Clinton, a Democratic candidate for president in 2016, has been scrutinized for her own connection to lobbyists. At least six major staffers on the Clinton campaign have at some point worked as registered lobbyists. Famed Washington, D.C., lobbyist Heather Podesta is also hosting a Clinton fundraiser later this month.
Lobbyists have already bundled millions to Clinton’s presidential campaign.