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Angie Drobnic Holan
By Angie Drobnic Holan January 21, 2009
Back to Tougher rules against revolving door for lobbyists and former officials

Obama signs executive order on lobbyists

In one of his first acts as president, Barack Obama kept a campaign promise to toughen ethics rules, signing an executive order on Jan. 21, 2009.

"If you are a lobbyist entering my administration, you will not be able to work on matters you lobbied on, or in the agencies you lobbied during the previous two years," Obama said at the signing ceremony. "When you leave government, you will not be able to lobby my administration for as long as I am president. And there will be a ban on gifts by lobbyists to anyone serving in the administration as well."

The title of the order is "Executive Order on Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel." (See the full text below.)

We rate his promise to institute tougher ethics rules as Promise Kept.