Lobbying

October 18, 2018

Lobbying is big business, and, despite President Trump’s campaign pledge to “drain the swamp”, 2017 saw the highest spending on lobbying since 2010.

The top three spending industries according to the Open Secrets database were:

• Pharmaceuticals: $280 million
• Insurance: $160.5 million
• Tech & Electronics: $147 million

Some people have pointed to Donald Trump’s harsh rhetoric on drug pricing to explain the pharmaceutical industry’s eye-watering spend ($30 million up on 2016). During his first press conference as president-elect he described the industry as “getting away with murder”.