Republican congressional staff have become lobbyists at higher rates than Democrats in recent years but the offices with the most revolving door action are mostly Democratic.
Over 7,200 revolving door lobbyists have served in GOP offices since 2002, exceeding the number of Democratic revolvers by over 1,000. GOP revolvers are currently exceeding Democratic revolvers in 2024, with Republican offices employing nearly 56% of staffers that made the move to K Street and 62% of incoming staffers who made the leap from K Street to the Hill.
Despite Republicans employing the most revolvers since 2002, only three GOP members are amongst the top ten revolving door congressional employers still in office: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.)
Schumer claims the top spot for the most revolvers, 100, having employed nearly 34% more revolvers than the next highest senator, Collins, with 75 revolvers.
Notably, Menendez, who was recently found guilty of 16 felony counts, including accepting bribes and acting as a foreign agent, and will resign later this month, is also among the top ten revolving door employers, with 63 revolvers.
The ranking of top employers is affected by the number of years served in Congress, with members who have served the most terms since 2002 more likely to have employed a higher number of revolvers than those who have served fewer terms. However, Schumer has employed 64% more revolvers than his counterpart, McConnell, who had 61 revolvers. House member offices are comparatively smaller and so have fewer revolving door staff than Senate offices.
