Obama's First Executive Order Limits Lobbyists

clipped from politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com Seeking to quickly follow through on some of his campaign promises about cleaning up Washington, on his second day in office President Barack Obama plans to sign several executive orders dealing with executive branch ethics. Senior White House aides said the executive orders, the first issued by the new president, will be signed Wednesday afternoon after the 1:15 p.m. swearing-in of White House staffers in the ceremonial office of Vice President Joe Biden. The aides said the executive orders will focus on restricting gifts to White House aides and executive branch officials, as well as trying to crackdown on the "revolving door" — the practice of government staffers quickly moving into lucrative private sector jobs lobbying the government.

CNN's Ed Henry reminds us that during his campaign, President Obama promised that "no political appointees in an Obama-Biden administration will be permitted to work on regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to their prior employer for two years. And no political appointees will be able to lobby the executive branch after leaving government service during the remainder of the administration."

Expect other executive orders fairly quickly. One widely anticipated one would be the repeal of the "Mexico city rule" -- a gag order that prevents foreign clinics that receive US funding from discussing abortion with patients.