US senator tears into ex-government employees helping defense firms get sweetheart deals

By Tugcenur Akgun

NEW YORK (AA) – In an official hearing, US Senator Elizabeth Warren pressed home the dangers of former military and government employees who go on to work for foreign governments.

Warren, chairing the Senate Armed Services Committee’s Personnel Panel Subcommittee on Wednesday, dug into employees' relations with foreign governments and corporations after retirement as well as corruption and ethical issues.

Warren cited a report which found 672 instances in 2022 of former government and congressional officials working as “lobbyists, board members or senior executives” for top defense contractors.

The report found that 91% of those employees became registered lobbyists for the contractors.

“Because federal contracts are so profitable for defense companies, these companies want the inside track on how to win those contracts,” she said.

“A preferred strategy is to hire former Pentagon employees to put together the bids and then to present them to their former colleagues in government,” she added.

Underlining the growing wealth of private defense firms due to their close relationship with the Pentagon, she said they recruit former Pentagon employees to help secure lucrative defense deals.

Warren argued that federal ethics laws on Pentagon lobbying are too narrow and urged them to expand the definition of lobbying.

But Caroline Krass, the Defense Department general counsel, defended current ethics laws and pushed back against Warren’s calls to expand them.

The job offers of countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, and China, to retired American soldiers were also discussed.

Retired soldier Lawrence B. Wilkerson said he also got offers from private defense companies and claimed that Saudi firms especially try to woo former US Air Force personnel.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar