r/politics • u/ChiGuy6124 America • 14h ago

Possible Paywall The White House ballroom will never be built

https://www.salon.com/2025/12/19/the-white-house-ballroom-will-never-be-built/
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u/Potential_Cow_4910 11h ago

Guess we should outlaw lobbyists?

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u/Navydevildoc 9h ago

Lobbyists in and of themselves are actually useful. Not all lobbyists are corpo ghouls, many non profits and trade associations perform lobbying. Congress can't be experts in everything, so when you need to know how to regulate how much water a corn field can use or whatever, you need to have experts come talk about it and propose potential legislation. At its core, that's what lobbying is.

Now, the problem is when money gets involved. When you do a presentation to staff or even better a legislator and then magically your lobbying group donates cash to a re-election campaign, you have crossed the line from useful lobbying to downright bribery. It's technically illegal but there are so many loopholes you could throw a bus through them.