Republican members of Congress are picking up more former lobbyists this year than in any year since 2011 after their last mid-term election success.
Staffers are moving in both directions between Republican offices and K Street in larger numbers than their Democratic counterparts so far this year. With two quarters of lobbying registrations filed, LegiStorm has tracked 284 former staffers who switched from Congress to lobbying, compared to 401 in all of 2014 and 443 two years ago.
Republicans have the majority, with 54.9 percent to Democrats' 38.7 percent.
But Republicans make up the vast majority of new staff who were lobbyists, after GOP success in the 2014 mid-term elections and the taking of the Senate majority. Eighty-three former lobbyists have taken Hill jobs this year and 75.9 percent of them are Republicans, compared to a nearly 50-50 split last year and a Democratic majority in 2013.
The 63 Republicans who have moved to Hill offices so far in 2015 is a larger number than in any full year since 2011, just after massive GOP success in the 2010 mid-terms, when 174 made the switch.
Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) have the top five spots for most revolving door staff since LegiStorm tracking began of salaries in 2000 and lobbying registrations in 2001. Only two members of Congress have more than four current staffers who were lobbyists: Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) with five each.
LegiStorm's revolving door tracking is conservative and includes only those staffers or former staffers who have filed lobbying registrations, excluding others who work in advocacy jobs but have not filed.
