The bill released Tuesday would tackle several areas of influence peddling that Sen. Elizabeth Warren has long flagged as corrosive, such as the revolving door between industry and government. | AP Photo Warren proposes sweeping crackdown on lobbying

Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday unveiled sweeping anti-corruption legislation to tackle what she called a widespread "crisis of faith" in how Washington works, sparked by extensive corporate lobbying.

The proposed lobbying overhaul, which will give Warren a fresh opening to pummel President Donald Trump for failing to fulfill his pledge to "drain the swamp," is the latest in a series of ambitious policy proposals that the Massachusetts Democrat has been floating, fueling speculation that she's gearing up for a 2020 presidential run.


The bill would ban elected officials from lobbying for life, restrict stock ownership by lawmakers and Cabinet secretaries and try to stop Americans from lobbying on behalf of foreign governments and companies.

Like a bill she introduced last week to impose new restrictions on the executives and boards of large companies, the lobbying legislation will put pressure on other Democrats to hew closer to Warren's anti-Wall Street message.

"Our national crisis of faith in government boils down to this simple fact: People don’t trust their government to do the right thing because they think government works for the rich, the powerful and the well-connected and not for the American people," she said at a press conference Tuesday. "And here’s the kicker: They’re right."

The bill would tackle several areas of influence peddling that Warren has long flagged as corrosive, such as the revolving door between industry and government and the capture of federal agencies by powerful industries.

Warren described her proposed fix as "the most ambitious anti-corruption legislation proposed in Congress since Watergate."

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In addition to a lifetime lobbying ban on the president, members of Congress, Cabinet secretaries and judges, the bill would expand the federal definition of "lobbyist" to cover more individuals who influence Washington. A newly defined category of "corporate lobbyist" would stop former federal officials from lobbying their offices on behalf of companies and trade groups for six years after leaving government.

It would require greater disclosure of lobbyists' activities and ban them from making direct political donations. Warren wants to raise congressional salaries so that "low-paid staffers don’t feel compelled to audition for jobs with influence peddlers when they should be standing up to them."

She attacked the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — the powerful big-business lobbying group across the street from the White House — accusing it of spending tens of millions of dollars to protect "a handful of America's richest corporations."

"They currently occupy an enormous building facing the White House, a sort of visual alternative to the government elected by the people," she said.

While the legislation has virtually no chance of becoming law, it will serve as a vehicle for Warren and her allies to highlight a string of corruption scandals swirling around Trump. Warren is a frequent target of attack by the president, who has long used the slur "Pocahontas" to highlight controversy around her claims of Native American heritage.

Paul Miller, president of the National Institute for Lobbying & Ethics, a trade group for the industry, dismissed Warren's proposal.

“I have great respect for the Senator, but this is part of the problem in Washington," Miller said in a statement. "We are now entering election crazy time.“

He said, "most of this is going to be unconstitutional," since Americans have the right to petition the government.

"We don’t like discrimination in this country except when it comes to lobbyists," he said. "We shouldn’t be discriminated [against] because the senator doesn’t like what we do."

Warren is proposing a foreign lobbying ban as Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, awaits a verdict on tax and bank fraud charges tied to millions he made as a political consultant in Ukraine. In addition, the legislation would require the president and vice president to divest businesses and other assets that could pose conflicts of interest.

The bill's restrictions on share ownership by lawmakers and Cabinet officials highlight the insider trading indictment of Rep. Chris Collins, the first member of Congress to endorse Trump's presidential run, as well as controversy around Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross' stock holdings.

"The examples are everywhere these days," she said.

But Warren described the problem — a "public cancer" — as deeper than Trump. She said her proposals would be unpopular with her friends and require everyone who runs for or holds office to change their practices, including herself.

To illustrate how it was "not a Republican-only problem,” Warren called out former SEC Chairwoman Mary Jo White, who returned to her corporate law firm after leaving office, for passing through the revolving door between government and industry.

"Let’s face it: there’s no real question that the Trump era has given us the most nakedly corrupt leadership this nation has seen in our lifetimes," she said. "But they are not the cause of the rot — they’re just the biggest, stinkiest example of it."

Marianne Levine contributed to this report.

