Movement of personnel between government regulatory agencies and the industries they regulate
The revolving door refers to the movement of personnel between government positions — particularly regulatory agencies — and the private industries those agencies oversee. Officials leave government service for lucrative positions at the companies they regulated, and industry executives take government positions where they shape the rules affecting their former employers. This cycle creates conflicts of interest that systematically favor industry over public protection.
The pattern is documented across virtually every regulated sector. Former FDA commissioners have gone on to serve on pharmaceutical company boards. Former SEC chairs have joined major Wall Street banks. Former EPA administrators have taken positions at fossil fuel companies. Former Pentagon officials have become defense contractor executives. The financial incentives are stark: government salaries are a fraction of what regulated industries pay, and the promise of future private-sector employment creates pressure to accommodate industry interests while still in government.
The revolving door is not merely a theoretical concern. ProPublica and other investigative outlets have documented specific cases where regulatory decisions appeared to benefit the industries that later hired the decision-makers. The defense sector is particularly notable: the Project on Government Oversight found that between 2008 and 2018, more than 1,700 former senior government officials registered as lobbyists or took positions at defense contractors.
