Lifetime Lobbying Ban for Ex-Congress Members: New Bill Extends Staff Waiting Period to Six Years

The Close the Revolving Door Act of 2025 is aiming to put a serious brake on the speed at which former lawmakers and their staff can jump straight into lobbying. This bill doesn't just tap the brakes; it replaces them with a heavy-duty anchor. At its core, the bill imposes a lifetime ban on former Members of Congress—Senators and Representatives—from ever lobbying their former colleagues or legislative offices on behalf of someone else (SEC. 2).

For the rest of us, this is all about trust. When a former Member of Congress can immediately start cashing in on relationships built while serving the public, it raises questions about whether they were working for the people or their next paycheck. This lifetime ban is the most significant change, ensuring that once you leave the Hill, you can’t use your old job title to influence new legislation. If you break this rule, the penalties are serious, following the rules already set in place for corruption.

The Six-Year Cool Down for Congressional Staff

If the lifetime ban is the anchor, the staff changes are the extended cool-down lap. Currently, many Congressional staffers face a one-year waiting period before they can lobby their former offices. This bill dramatically extends that waiting period to six years for several categories of staff (SEC. 3). Think of the Staff Director who writes the bill, the Legislative Director who sets the policy agenda, or the Chief of Staff who controls access to the Member. Under the current one-year rule, they can walk out the door and be back in the office a year later, lobbying on the very issues they helped craft.

Extending this ban to six years means that by the time these high-level staffers are cleared to lobby, the political landscape will likely have shifted, the legislation will be different, and their specific knowledge will be less immediately valuable to special interests. This change is designed to discourage staffers from using their government service as a direct, short-term audition for a lucrative lobbying job. For the average American, this means the people drafting the laws are less likely to have one eye on the private sector while they work.

Lobbyists Banned from Congressional Jobs

The revolving door spins both ways, and this bill addresses that, too. If you were a registered lobbyist or worked for a foreign principal, you’re now facing a six-year ban on being hired by a Member of Congress or a Congressional committee—but only if you had “substantial lobbying contact” with that specific Member or committee (SEC. 5). This prevents a lobbyist from, say, spending a year aggressively pushing a specific policy with a committee, and then immediately being hired as that committee’s Staff Director to implement the policy they just lobbied for.

What counts as “substantial contact”? It’s more than just a casual coffee chat. It means coordinating meetings, giving presentations, or helping with fundraising efforts related to legislation or federal money. However, there’s a catch: the Senate and House Ethics Committees can waive this ban if they decide there’s a “compelling national need” to hire that specific person. This is the bill’s biggest potential loophole. “Compelling national need” is pretty vague, and it gives the ethics committees significant power to bypass the rule, which could lead to inconsistent application or political pressure.

The New Transparency Hub: lobbyists.gov

For anyone trying to follow the money, the bill creates a huge win for transparency. It mandates the creation of a single, joint website called lobbyists.gov (SEC. 4). This site must contain all the information lobbyists are already required to report, but in a centralized, easily searchable, and downloadable format. If you’ve ever tried to track down lobbying reports across different government sites, you know how frustrating it is. This new site, funded with $100,000 for fiscal year 2026, promises to make it much easier for journalists, researchers, and concerned citizens to see who is lobbying whom, and on what issues. That’s a major upgrade for public accountability.

Finally, the bill increases the financial risk for those who break the existing disclosure rules. The maximum fine for certain violations under the Lobbying Disclosure Act jumps from $200,000 to a hefty $500,000 (SEC. 7). This provides a stronger financial deterrent, especially for large, well-funded lobbying operations.