Republican Senator Ted Cruz surprised everyone, including himself, after he admitted he agrees with a proposal put forward by Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The two politicians came to find common ground after Ocasio-Cortez proposed a ban on lawmakers becoming lobbyists. The NY Democrat got the ball rolling on Twitter, reacting to a statistic that shows 60 percent of former congressmen from the 115th Congress received jobs as lobbyists or federal policy influencers, something she disapproved, Fox News reported.
“If you are a member of Congress + leave, you shouldn’t be allowed to turn right around & leverage your service for a lobbyist check,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “I don’t think it should be legal at ALL to become a corporate lobbyist if you’ve served in Congress. At minimum there should be a long wait period.”
Cruz commemorated the rare agreement with the progressive congresswoman by tweet and opened the door to a potential collaboration on future legislation.
“Here’s something I don’t say often: on this point, I AGREE with @AOC,” Cruz wrote. “Indeed, I have long called for a LIFETIME BAN on former Members of Congress becoming lobbyists. The Swamp would hate it, but perhaps a chance for some bipartisan cooperation?”
Ocasio-Cortez seemed intrigued, but only if it’s a “clean bill.”
“@TedCruz, if you’re serious about a clean bill, then I’m down. Let’s make a deal,” Ocasio-Cortez responded. “If we can agree on a bill with no partisan snuck-in clauses, no poison pills, etc – just a straight, clean ban on members of Congress becoming paid lobbyists – then I’ll co-lead the bill with you.”
“You’re on,” Cruz agreed.
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