How many times has this happened to you? You’re in a car, and you’re giving the driver directions. You say, “Up ahead, at the next light, take a left.” Just as you do, the driver moves into the right lane, and puts on his right turn signal. Quickly, you correct him, and facetiously say, “No, no, no your other left.”
Among the questions I get asked regularly is, “do you meet with Senators and Congresspersons, and, if so, when and where?” The answer: “Yes, sometimes,” and, “well, it all depends.” While meetings with congressional offices during the pandemic were all held virtually, in person meetings resumed earlier this year.
The other day, I had a meeting with the CEO of an association for association executives. Yeah, an association of associations. She was pitching me on joining a coalition to lobby in favor of immigration reform. Although an admirable pursuit given the polarization in Washington, the end of Title 42, and the televised chaos at the U.S.’s southern border, I couldn’t get past it…an association for associations.
As the 2024 presidential election approaches, Washington’s revolving door is in full swing. The term “revolving door” refers to the flow of high-level employees from public-sector jobs to private-sector jobs and vice versa.
Although I typically try to offer just one thought of the week to open the blog, this week will be a little different. I’ll briefly touch on four issues that came across my desk.
Immediately following the two-week long Easter/Passover recess, and preceding a Congressional session that will take official Washington all the way to the July 4 recess, would seem to be the perfect time to host a rooftop open house…that’s also exactly what Delta Airlines thought as they celebrated the opening of their new Government Affairs office.
Today is the last day of Passover. I know this because mine is a mixed marriage. My wife is Jewish, and I was raised Catholic. While Easter is a Christian celebration of resurrection, new beginnings, and rebirth, Passover tells the story of the Jewish people’s flight from Egypt, and their freedom from bondage. Both celebrations are steeped in tradition and history. In fact, the story of Passover begins with a simple line, “A new king rose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.” Without delving too deep into the meaning of Passover, which is told in Exodus, the second book of the Old Testament, that single line portends a cautionary tale about those who fail to learn from history are the same who may one day be condemned to repeat it.
On the same day I had lunch with one of Delta Airlines’ federal lobbyists and dinner with a small group of energy analysts, which included several former Trump administration EPA officials, President Trump was indicted. The indictment and subsequent arraignment made political history—Donald Trump became the first of America’s 46 presidents to be charged with a crime and forced to surrender to authorities.
Earlier this week, my father was inducted, posthumously, into the George Washington University Hall of Fame; I accepted the award on his behalf and said a few words about his love of family, “dad jokes,” and being a professor.
Over the past two weeks, the Washington office received scholars from the TOMODACHI Sumitomo Corporation Scholarship Program. If you’re not familiar with the program, it began in 2014 to support exchange between the U.S. and Japan. More specifically, the TOMODACHI Sumitomo Corporation Scholarship Program provides assistance to high-achieving university students with financial need to enable them to study abroad for one year.