Revolving Door
Track how officials move between government positions and the private sector industries they regulate — and the conflicts of interest that follow.
Total Cases
22
Industry \u2192 Gov
0
Gov \u2192 Industry
0
Avg Conflict Score
81
Lloyd Austin
Conflict
95
From
Secretary of Defense
Department of Defense
To
Raytheon Board Member (2016-2021)
Raytheon Technologies
Oversaw $145B defense budget with Raytheon as top contractor. Received $1.4M from Raytheon board seat before becoming SecDef.
Mark Esper
Conflict
92
From
Secretary of Defense
Department of Defense
To
Raytheon VP for Government Relations
Raytheon
Raytheon's top lobbyist became Pentagon chief. Raytheon contracts increased 20% during tenure.
David Sacks
Conflict
92
From
AI & Crypto Czar
White House / OSTP
To
Craft Ventures (449 companies)
Craft Ventures
Invested in 449 AI companies while serving as AI policy czar. Received financial conflict of interest waiver. Senate investigation launched.
Andrew Wheeler
Conflict
90
From
EPA Administrator
Environmental Protection Agency
To
Former Murray Energy Lobbyist
Murray Energy / Faegre Drinker
Coal industry lobbyist became EPA chief. Rolled back Obama-era climate regulations. Murray Energy was top client.
Rex Tillerson
Conflict
90
From
Secretary of State
State Department
To
ExxonMobil CEO
ExxonMobil
Oil CEO became top diplomat. Russia sanctions and climate policy directly affected Exxon. Received $180M severance from Exxon.
Ajit Pai
Conflict
88
From
FCC Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
To
Searchlight Capital Partners (PE)
Searchlight Capital Partners
Repealed net neutrality, then went to PE firm investing in telecom. Also joined Verizon board.
David Bernhardt
Conflict
88
From
Interior Secretary
Department of Interior
To
Former Oil & Gas Lobbyist
Brownstein Hyatt
Lobbied for oil companies, then oversaw federal lands and drilling permits. Expanded Arctic drilling.
Alex Azar
Conflict
87
From
HHS Secretary
HHS
To
Former Eli Lilly President
Eli Lilly
Lilly's US president became HHS Secretary. Insulin prices increased under his tenure.
Scott Gottlieb
Conflict
85
From
FDA Commissioner
Food and Drug Administration
To
Pfizer Board Member
Pfizer
FDA chief now sits on board of largest pharma company. Made $365K from Pfizer in 2023.
Steve Mnuchin
Conflict
85
From
Treasury Secretary
Treasury
To
Liberty Strategic Capital
Liberty Strategic Capital
After overseeing pandemic relief and tax policy, launched PE firm. Saudi Arabia's PIF invested $1B in his fund.
Pam Bondi
Conflict
82
From
Attorney General
Department of Justice
To
Former Ballard Partners Lobbyist
Ballard Partners
Registered lobbyist for Qatar, Amazon, Uber. Now AG. Sold Trump Media stock before tariff announcement. Ethical concerns about lobbying clients.
Jay Clayton
Conflict
82
From
SEC Chairman
SEC
To
Sullivan & Cromwell / Apollo Global
Apollo Global Management
SEC chair who went easy on Wall Street, then joined PE giant Apollo. Also returned to Sullivan & Cromwell (Goldman Sachs's law firm).
Chris Wright
Conflict
80
From
Energy Secretary
Department of Energy
To
Liberty Energy CEO
Liberty Energy
Fracking company CEO appointed Energy Secretary. Koch network donor. Liberty Energy stock in blind trust but still benefits from pro-fossil-fuel policy.
Wilbur Ross
Conflict
80
From
Commerce Secretary
Commerce
To
WL Ross & Co (Invesco)
WL Ross & Co
Failed to fully divest from holdings. Maintained stake in company with ties to Putin ally. Ethics violations found by IG.
Howard Lutnick
Conflict
78
From
Commerce Secretary
Department of Commerce
To
Cantor Fitzgerald CEO
Cantor Fitzgerald
Wall Street CEO overseeing trade policy affecting financial sector. Major Trump donor.
Elaine Chao
Conflict
78
From
Transportation Secretary
Department of Transportation
To
Wells Fargo Board
Wells Fargo / Foremost Group
Inspector General found she used office to benefit family shipping business (Foremost Group). Ethics investigation.
Tom Wheeler
Conflict
75
From
FCC Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
To
Former Cable Industry Lobbyist (NCTA)
NCTA / CTIA
Led cable and wireless industry lobbying groups, then regulated them as FCC Chair.
Mark Meadows
Conflict
75
From
White House Chief of Staff
White House
To
Conservative Partnership Institute
Conservative Partnership Institute
Used government position to coordinate with outside groups. Under investigation for election interference. Now runs conservative advocacy group.
Linda McMahon
Conflict
72
From
Education Secretary
Department of Education
To
Former WWE CEO / SBA Admin
WWE / America First Action
Donated $100M+ to Trump-aligned causes. Appointed twice. WWE received favorable regulatory treatment.
Robert Califf
Conflict
70
From
FDA Commissioner
FDA
To
Former Duke Clinical Research / Pharma Consultant
Verily (Alphabet) / Duke
Extensive pharma industry consulting ties. Received payments from 7 pharma companies per disclosure.
Michael Barr
Conflict
65
From
Fed Vice Chair for Supervision
Federal Reserve
To
Academic / Ripple Advisor
Ripple Labs
Advised crypto company Ripple, then oversaw crypto regulation at the Fed.
Gary Gensler
Conflict
55
From
SEC Chairman
SEC
To
Former Goldman Sachs Partner
Goldman Sachs
Goldman partner became Wall Street's top regulator. Aggressive on crypto but critics noted light touch on traditional finance.