Federal Lobbyists

About Registered Lobbyists

OpenLobby profiles 23,545 individual lobbyists who have been named on federal lobbying disclosure filings since 2018. Over 5,000 of these lobbyists disclosed prior government positions — the revolving door between public service and K Street.

Lobbyists marked with the 🏛️ badge held government positions before entering the private sector. These former officials — from White House advisors to congressional chiefs of staff — bring insider knowledge and personal relationships that command premium rates. Click any lobbyist to see their full profile, including clients served and firms they work for.

How Federal Lobbying Works

Federal lobbying in the United States is governed by the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA), which requires anyone who is paid to influence legislation, executive action, or federal contracts to register with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House. Lobbyists must file quarterly activity reports disclosing their clients, the issues they lobbied on, the agencies or chambers of Congress they contacted, and the income they received. In 2025, lobbyists filed over 94,000 quarterly reports, generating a rich public record of who is trying to influence which decisions in Washington. OpenLobby parses every one of these filings to build the most comprehensive, searchable database of lobbying activity available to the public.

The registration threshold is relatively low: any individual who spends more than 20% of their time on lobbying activities for a particular client during a quarterly period, and whose client spends more than $14,000 on lobbying in that quarter, must register. This captures a wide range of professionals — from dedicated government affairs specialists at lobbying firms to in-house lobbyists employed directly by corporations and trade associations. However, many influence professionals structure their work to stay below these thresholds, meaning the 23,545 lobbyists tracked here represent a floor, not a ceiling, of Washington's influence industry.

The Revolving Door: Government to K Street

One of the most important dynamics in lobbying is the revolving door — the movement of personnel between government service and private-sector lobbying. Of the 23,545 lobbyists in our database, more than5,000 (roughly 21%) disclosed prior positions in the federal government. These former officials include ex-members of Congress, senior White House staff, agency administrators, congressional committee counsels, and Pentagon officials. Their government experience gives them deep knowledge of legislative and regulatory processes, personal relationships with current officeholders, and subject-matter expertise that is difficult to replicate. Studies consistently show that lobbyists with revolving-door backgrounds generate significantly more revenue for their firms — in our data, firms employing ex-government lobbyists earn 369% more on average than those without.

The revolving door operates in both directions. Former lobbyists frequently return to government in appointed positions, bringing industry perspectives to regulatory agencies and the White House. In the 119th Congress (2025–2026), at least 78 senior staffers previously worked as registered lobbyists before joining congressional offices. Critics argue this creates conflicts of interest, while defenders contend that policy expertise developed in the private sector improves government decision-making. Regardless of one's view, understanding who has passed through the revolving door is essential context for evaluating policy outcomes — which is why OpenLobby flags every lobbyist with disclosed government experience.

Career Paths Into Lobbying

There is no single career path into federal lobbying. The most common backgrounds include former congressional staff (particularly legislative directors and chiefs of staff), attorneys at Washington law firms, former executive-branch officials, retired military officers, and trade association executives. Many lobbyists hold law degrees — an estimated 62% of top-billing lobbyists attended law school — though legal licensure is not required. The median lobbyist in our database first appears on filings around age 35, suggesting most enter the profession after building expertise in government, law, or a specific policy domain. Compensation varies widely: entry-level lobbyists at mid-size firms typically earn $90,000–$130,000, while senior partners at elite firms can command $1 million or more annually. The highest-paid lobbyists are almost invariably those with the most significant government credentials.

Top Lobbyists by Activity

Some lobbyists appear on hundreds of quarterly filings, representing dozens ofclients simultaneously across a wide range of issue areas. The most active lobbyists in our database have been named on 500+ filings since 2018, typically working for large multi-service firms like Akin Gump, Brownstein Hyatt, or Holland & Knight. These high-volume lobbyists tend to specialize in broad areas like appropriations, tax policy, or healthcare regulation, where their relationships with key committee chairs and ranking members provide leverage across many clients. At the other end of the spectrum, thousands of lobbyists appear on just a handful of filings, often representing a single employer on a narrow set of issues.

Lobbying Regulation and Ethics

Federal lobbyists are subject to several layers of regulation beyond the LDA. The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA) imposed additional restrictions, including a two-year "cooling off" period for former senators and a one-year period for former House members before they can lobby their former colleagues. Senior executive-branch officials face similar cooling-off requirements. Lobbyists are also prohibited from making gifts to members of Congress exceeding $50 in value and must disclose campaign contributions bundled on behalf of candidates. Violations can result in civil penalties of up to $200,000 per offense and, in cases of willful noncompliance, criminal prosecution. Despite these rules, enforcement has historically been limited — the Government Accountability Office has repeatedly found that compliance rates for timely and accurate filing hover around 75–80%, with many lobbyists filing late or failing to disclose all required information.

Lobbyist Demographics and Trends in 2026

The lobbying workforce has evolved significantly in recent years. The total number of active registered lobbyists (those appearing on at least one filing in a given year) declined from a peak of roughly 14,800 in 2007 to around 12,600 in 2020, as many practitioners de-registered in response to heightened public scrutiny and the Obama-era restrictions on lobbyist participation in government. Since then, the numbers have rebounded, with approximately 13,200 active lobbyists filing in 2025. The profession remains heavily concentrated in the Washington metropolitan area — over 85% of lobbyists list addresses in DC,Virginia, orMaryland. However, the rise of remote work has enabled a small but growing cohort of lobbyists to operate from otherstates, particularlyTexas andFlorida.

How to Use the Lobbyists Directory

Use the search bar above to find any lobbyist by name. You can also filter by issue area, firm, or government background. Each lobbyist profile page provides a complete picture: every client they've represented, every firm they've worked for, every issue they've lobbied on, and a timeline of their quarterly filings. Lobbyists with the 🏛️ badge have disclosed prior government service. Revenue figures shown on lobbyist profiles are derived from the income reported by their firms on quarterly filings — since multiple lobbyists may work on a single filing, these figures represent the filing-level revenue associated with each lobbyist rather than their individual compensation. For deeper analysis, explore our firms directory to see how lobbyists are organized, or our issues breakdown to understand which policy areas attract the most lobbying activity.

Lobbying by the Numbers: 2026 Statistics

The federal lobbying workforce reflects a mature, highly professionalized industry with deep roots in Washington's political ecosystem. Here are the key statistics that define the profession in 2026:

• 23,545 total registered lobbyists have appeared on filings since 2018
• ~13,200 active lobbyists filed at least one report in 2025
• 5,000+ revolving-door lobbyists disclosed prior government positions
• 21% of all lobbyists have government backgrounds
• 369% revenue premium for firms employing ex-government staff
• 85% of lobbyists are based in the DC metropolitan area
• 62% of top-billing lobbyists hold law degrees
• 94,000+ quarterly filings were submitted in 2025
• $4.7 billion in total lobbying spending in 2025
• 79 issue categories defined by the Lobbying Disclosure Act

The Bipartisan Nature of Lobbying

Unlike many aspects of Washington politics, lobbying is deeply bipartisan. Majorlobbying firms deliberately hire lobbyists from both sides of the aisle, ensuring they can effectively advocate with whichever party controls Congress, the White House, or key committee chairs. The most valuable lobbying teams pair a former Democratic chief of staff with a former Republican leadership aide, creating access across the political spectrum. This bipartisan structure means that changes in party control shift which lobbyists are most in demand, but rarely reduce overall lobbying spending. When power changes hands, firms simply elevate different team members — a dynamic that helps explain why lobbying revenue has grown continuously regardless of which party holds the majority.

Specialization and Expertise

While some lobbyists are generalists who work across manyissue areas, the trend in the profession is toward increasing specialization. The most effective lobbyists develop deep expertise in specific policy domains — a former FDA official who lobbies on pharmaceutical regulation, a retired Army general who advocates for defense contractors, or a former tax counsel who navigates the Internal Revenue Code for corporate clients. This specialization creates a market whereclients often hire multiple lobbyists, each bringing expertise in different areas relevant to their business. A major healthcare company might retain one lobbyist for Medicare reimbursement issues, another for FDA regulatory affairs, a third for tax policy, and a fourth for appropriations — each selected for their specific relationships and knowledge base.

Shadow Lobbying and Unregistered Influence

The 23,545 lobbyists in our database represent only the registered portion of Washington's influence industry. A significant amount of influence activity occurs below the registration threshold or is structured to avoid triggering disclosure requirements. Former officials who provide "strategic advice" rather than direct congressional contact, consultants who lobby executive-branch agencies through informal channels, and organizations that characterize their advocacy as "grassroots" rather than direct lobbying all operate outside the LDA's disclosure framework. Various estimates suggest that the true influence industry is 2–3 times larger than what appears in official lobbying filings. This shadow lobbying makes the registered lobbyists in OpenLobby's database all the more valuable as a data source — they represent the most transparent slice of a much larger influence ecosystem.

Lobbying and Democracy

The role of lobbyists in American democracy is a subject of ongoing debate. Proponents argue that lobbying is a form of constitutionally protected petitioning of the government, and that lobbyists provide lawmakers with crucial technical expertise and real-world perspectives on how legislation affects businesses, communities, and individuals. Critics counter that the lobbying system disproportionately amplifies the voices of wealthy corporations and industries at the expense of ordinary citizens who cannot afford professional representation. Both perspectives contain truth: lobbying does provide valuable information to policymakers, but the massive spending disparities documented in our data — where the top 100 clients outspend the bottom 30,000 combined — raise legitimate questions about equality of access and influence. OpenLobby exists to make this system transparent, so that citizens, journalists, researchers, and policymakers can see exactly who is lobbying whom, on whichissues, and for how much money.

Notable Lobbying Controversies

The lobbying profession has been marked by several high-profile scandals that have shaped public perception and regulatory responses. The Jack Abramoff scandal of the mid-2000s revealed systematic corruption involving gifts, trips, and campaign contributions to lawmakers in exchange for legislative favors, leading to the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007. More recently, the rapid growth of foreign lobbying — particularly from authoritarian governments seeking to influence U.S. policy — has drawn scrutiny from both parties in Congress. In 2023–2024, several lobbying investigations focused on undisclosed foreign lobbying by former senior officials, resulting in FARA enforcement actions and renewed calls for stricter disclosure requirements. These controversies have not reduced lobbying activity but have shifted some practitioners toward more careful compliance and others toward unregistered "strategic advisory" roles that avoid disclosure entirely.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often is this data updated? OpenLobby updates its lobbyist database quarterly, following each filing deadline with the Senate Office of Public Records. New filings typically appear in our system within 2–4 weeks of the deadline.

What does the revenue figure on a lobbyist profile mean? Revenue figures represent the income reported on filings where that lobbyist was named. Since multiple lobbyists often appear on a single filing, these figures reflect filing-level revenue associated with each lobbyist, not individual compensation.

Why are some lobbyists listed without a firm? Some lobbyists work in-house for theirclients rather than through external lobbying firms. In these cases, the client itself appears as both the registrant and the client on the filing.

How do I find lobbyists focused on a specific issue? Visit ourissues directory and click on any issue category to see the lobbyists, firms, and clients most active in that policy area.

The Modern Lobbyist: Career Paths and Compensation

The lobbying profession has evolved dramatically over the past decade. Today's federal lobbyists come from diverse backgrounds — former congressional staffers, retired military officers, ex-agency officials, corporate government affairs directors, and trade association executives. The most sought-after lobbyists combine deep policy expertise with personal relationships on Capitol Hill. In 2026, the average lobbying engagement generates between $60,000 and $120,000 per quarter, though top-tier lobbyists with senior government experience can command rates exceeding $500,000 annually per client.

Career trajectories in lobbying typically follow predictable patterns. Many lobbyists begin as legislative assistants or committee staffers in Congress, spending 5–10 years building policy expertise and relationships. After leaving government, they join established lobbying firms or launch their own practices. The most successful lobbyists specialize in high-value issue areas like healthcare,defense, and technology — sectors where regulatory complexity creates sustained demand for Washington expertise.

Lobbying Regulation and Disclosure Requirements

Under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (amended by the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007), lobbyists must register with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House within 45 days of making a lobbying contact — or being employed to make such contacts. Quarterly reports (LD-2 filings) must disclose the specific issues lobbied, the government agencies and chambers contacted, and the income or expenses associated with lobbying activities.

Despite these requirements, significant gaps remain in the disclosure regime. The LDA's definition of "lobbying contact" excludes many forms of influence, including strategic advisory work, grassroots mobilization, and public affairs campaigns. Critics estimate that the true scope of Washington's influence industry may be 2–3 times larger than what official filings reveal. Organizations like OpenLobby help close the transparency gap by making filed data searchable, cross-referenced, and analytically accessible to the public.

2026 Trends in Federal Lobbying Personnel

Several notable trends are reshaping the lobbying workforce in 2026. First, the surge in AI-related lobbying has created intense demand for lobbyists with technology policy backgrounds — particularly those who worked at agencies like the FTC, NIST, or on congressional technology committees. Second, the tariff and trade policy upheaval has reactivated trade-focused lobbyists who had quieter portfolios in recent years.

Third, the 2026 midterm elections are driving a wave of post-election lobbying hires as organizations position themselves for potential shifts in committee leadership and legislative priorities. Former members of Congress and senior staff from both parties are in high demand, with firms competing aggressively for talent that can navigate both sides of the aisle.

The Revolving Door: Government to K Street

The movement between government service and lobbying — known as the revolving door — remains one of Washington's most debated dynamics. OpenLobby data shows that lobbyists with prior government experience are associated with filings that generate significantly higher revenue. Firms employing ex-officials earn an average of 369% more than those without revolving door connections, a premium that reflects the value clients place on insider access and institutional knowledge.

Cooling-off periods — typically 1–2 years for senior officials — are intended to prevent immediate monetization of government relationships. However, many former officials work as "strategic advisors" or "consultants" during their cooling-off periods, providing guidance that falls short of the LDA's definition of a lobbying contact. This grey area has led to ongoing calls for reform, including proposals to extend cooling-off periods, broaden the definition of lobbying activity, and create stronger enforcement mechanisms. For a deeper analysis, see ourRevolving Door Premium investigation.