--- description: President Donald Trump signed a lifetime foreign-lobbying ban for members of his administration, as well as a 5-year ban for other lobbying title: President Trump Signs 5-Year Lobbying Ban for Administration Officials image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ae040b374428b99/6988b7bdab6d77566b6aca95/trump25.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [White House](/tag/white-house/) ## White House Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # President Trump Signs 5-Year Lobbying Ban for Administration Officials by [Zeke Miller](/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 28, 2017 10:32 PM CUT  President Trump signs three executive actions in the Oval Office on Jan. 28, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Trump signs three executive actions in the Oval Office on Jan. 28, 2017 in Washington, DC.Pete Marovich—Getty Images by [Zeke Miller](/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 28, 2017 10:32 PM CUT [President Donald Trump](http://time.com/4641233/donald-trump-inauguration-impeach/ "undefined") signed a lifetime foreign-lobbying ban for members of his administration Saturday, as well as a five-year ban for all other lobbying. The lobbying ban was a central component of Trump’s campaign pledge to “[drain the swamp](http://time.com/4616679/donald-trump-drain-the-swamp/ "undefined")” in Washington, D.C., though his commitment to the slogan has wavered. Trump has hired top donors to his campaign for administration jobs, while [relying on industry lobbyists](http://time.com/donald-trump-drain-swamp/ "undefined") for both his transition and administration staff. “This was something, the five year ban, that I was talking a lot about on the campaign trail and we will now put it into effect,” Trump said as he signed the order in the Oval Office. Speaking to reporters earlier Saturday, a senior administration official confirmed that the ban wouldn’t keep lobbyists from joining the administration. “It’s not about your past, it’s about your future,” the official said. “We want to bring on people who have extensive experience in whatever issue area they’re handling,” the official added, “and that may have included being one of the best lobbyists for the world in that area. An official said the ban represents an enforceable agreement against members of Trump’s administration unless the order is rescinded by a future president. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4652703/president-trump-lobbying-ban/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4652703/president-trump-lobbying-ban/"},"headline":"President Trump Signs 5-Year Lobbying Ban for Administration Officials","datePublished":"2017-01-28T22:32:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:00:34.559Z","description":"The lobbying ban was a central component of Trump's campaign pledge to \"drain the swamp\"","url":"https://time.com/4652703/president-trump-lobbying-ban/","keywords":["White House","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ae040b374428b99/6988b7bdab6d77566b6aca95/trump25.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ae040b374428b99/6988b7bdab6d77566b6aca95/trump25.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump Signs Executive Orders In The Oval Office","caption":"President Trump Signs Executive Orders In The Oval Office","creditText":"Pete Marovich—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4652703/president-trump-lobbying-ban/","name":"President Trump Signs 5-Year Lobbying Ban for Administration Officials"}}]}] ```