Now-former President Donald Trump departed the White House on Wednesday as Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. Prior to doing so, however, Trump issued one final executive order. He repealed one of his “drain the swamp” acts.
The White House announced the repeal on Wednesday and said that the revoke of Executive Order 13770 from Jan. 28, 2017, would be effective once the clock reached 12 p.m. “Employees and former employees subject to the commitments in Executive Order 13770 will not be subject to those commitments after noon January 20, 2021,” the order said.
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In January 2017, flanked by his top aides, President Trump made a big show out of signing an executive order that would, among other things, institute a five year ban on former aides lobbying.
Part of his “drain the swamp” pledge.
Tonight, Trump rescinded the executive order. pic.twitter.com/Bvv4U3bhAN
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) January 20, 2021
According to Forbes, the initial executive order was entitled “Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Appointees.” Trump signed the order only eight days into his presidency and included a ban on “lobbying certain officials for the remainder of the Trump administration.” Additionally, the pledge included agreements not to become registered foreign agents and not accept gifts from lobbyists while serving in the administration.
Per Forbes, the executive order allowed former lobbyists to enter the administration. However, there was a two-year restriction on them working in agencies where they previously lobbied. “All the people standing behind me will not be able to go to work,” Trump said at the time, referencing figures gathered behind him in the Oval Office.
“This was something — the five-year ban — that I’ve been talking about a lot on the campaign trail. We are now putting it into effect,” Trump added during the January 2017 ceremony. He also talked about the preexisting ban was only for two years and said that it was “full of loopholes.”
In addition to revoking the previous executive order, Trump also pardoned 143 people during his final day in office. The list included former campaign chief Steve Bannon and rapper Lil Wayne. However, he did not pardon any members of his family, lawyer Rudy Giuliani or any supporters who broke into the Capitol building. Forbes also reports that Trump did not pardon himself ahead of leaving the Oval Office despite rumors circulating for months that he would attempt to do so.
