White House Tours Cancelled, But Lobbyists Still Get In

Students seeking a tour of the White House have been locked out due to sequestration, but lobbyists looking for help from President Obama have found an open door.

The White House cancelled all tours, effective March 9, 2013, citing budget cuts necessitated by sequestration. But the work of the White House must go on, so President Obama met with Tony Podesta, one of the top lobbyists in D.C., on April 18, 2013. Podesta’s 2013 clients, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, include: Google, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Solar Reserve — an Energy Department loan guarantee recipient tied to Solyndra – and some of the energy drink companies that Senate Democrats have recently decided to target for increased regulation, such as Monster Energy and Rockstar, Inc. (White House visitor logs say that 412 people were in that meeting, so it seems likely Podesta was there for the Greek Independence Day reception hosted by the president.)
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