Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Thursday that he agrees with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) about putting in place a lifetime ban on former members of Congress becoming lobbyists.
Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that former members “shouldn’t be allowed to turn right around&leverage your service for a lobbyist check,” adding that she prefers for former members to not be able to lobby at all.
Cruz, a conservative, tweeted that he agreed with her, which he admitted is something he doesn’t say often about the progressive lawmaker on the other end of the political spectrum.
“Indeed, I have long called for a LIFETIME BAN on former Members of Congress becoming lobbyists,” Cruz wrote.
Senators are banned from lobbying Congress for two years after leaving office, while House members are banned for one year.
In the 2019 class of lawmakers-turned-lobbyists, 15 former members are lobbying at firms and two started their own firms, The Hill reported last week.
Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet was in response to a Public Citizen report that 59 percent, which is 26 out of 44, former members in the class of 2019 took lobbying jobs or jobs influencing policy.
Lawmakers who head to the private sector have been facing new scrutiny from critics who say former members are taking on lobbying work even when they don’t officially register to lobby.
Other lawmakers have expressed the concerns as Cruz and Ocasio-Cortez, most notably presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
She introduced a bill that includes a lifetime ban on lobbying by former lawmakers, presidents and top executive branch appointees.
Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (R-Ind.) introduced legislation in February that would ban former members of Congress from registering to become lobbyists.