Ledger · 2016 campaign · № 88

first day in office

Drain the swamp with a five-year lobbying ban

Broken

“[paraphrase] A five-year ban on executive branch officials lobbying the government after they leave, and a lifetime ban on lobbying for a foreign government.”

Promised

October 22, 2016, "Contract with the American Voter," Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Stated deadline

“first day in office” → October 23, 2016

Overdue by

9 years, 10 months as of September 22, 2026

Re-promised

50 times with a fresh deadline

Topic

Ethics & conflicts

Era

2016 campaign

What happened

Executive Order 13770, signed January 28, 2017, contained the pledge but with exemptions, and the lifetime foreign-lobbying ban applied only to lobbying registered under FARA, not to broader foreign consulting. Trump revoked the order entirely on January 19-20, 2021, hours before leaving office, releasing all appointees from the pledge.

Sources

1. Trump revokes lobbying ban he signed at the beginning of his presidency Forbes, Jan 20, 2021
2. Trump frees former aides from ethics pledge, lobbying ban Federal News Network / AP, Jan 20, 2021
3. Enact 5-year ban on White House and congressional officials from lobbying PolitiFact Trump-O-Meter, Jul 15, 2020
4. Revisiting President Trump's forgotten five-point ethics plan Campaign Legal Center, Oct 20, 2020