Former Rep. Jim Moran (D., Va.) has registered to lobby on behalf of firms who were among his top funders throughout his political career in Washington.
Moran, a controversial figure whose tenure in the House of Representatives spanned from 1991 to 2015, joined the Washington, D.C.-based McDermott Will & Emery law firm in January 2015 as a senior legislative adviser. Due to ethics rules, Moran had to wait one year before registering as a lobbyist.
On February 25, Moran officially filed a lobbyist disclosure form to lobby on behalf of General Dynamics, a major defense firm. A few days later, on March 2, Moran registered to represent Boeing Corporation, the largest aerospace company in the world.
Employees and political action committees of each of the companies were among the top contributors to Moran’s campaigns during his time serving in Congress.
Moran took in a total of $4,600 from individuals who worked for General Dynamics while additionally receiving $71,000 from General Dynamic-related PACs.
Employees who worked for Boeing donated $99,000 to Moran while Boeing PACs added an additional $57,000.
The money from employees at Boeing, combined with the PAC contributions, equated to the third-largest contribution he received throughout his tenure as a lawmaker, data from the Center for Responsive Politics shows.
Moran, who spent numerous years serving on the House Appropriations Committee, told the Washington Post last January that some of his closest friends serve on the committee that he would eventually lobby.
"I certainly believe in a strong national defense and many of my closest friends are on the defense appropriations subcommittee," Moran said. "And within the defense contracting community, I have close relations. That would probably be natural and something I’d be doing instinctively anyway."
Seven former members of Congress have registered to lobby since the beginning of 2016.