Adam Gregg, Iowa’s lieutenant governor and the second in command to Gov. Kim Reynolds for the past seven years, resigned last month to take a position as head of the Iowa Bankers Association, a statewide organization that advocates for Iowa banks to the state and federal governments.
Gregg, whose resignation took effect immediately, will go from being Reynolds’ right-hand man to becoming the next leader of an organization that lobbied on 135 pieces of legislation at the Iowa Capitol over two years.
As the incoming president and chief executive officer of the Iowa Bankers Association, he will replace leader John Sorensen at the end of the year.
Iowa law prohibits former government officials from lobbying on legislation for two years after leaving their government position. However, while Gregg will become the head of the Iowa Bankers Association, he will not directly lobby on behalf of the organization. That is why, state officials say, he can lead the association without running afoul of the lobbying law.
Gregg’s transition is an example of what has become called the revolving door: government officials leaving their government jobs to become lobbyists. At the federal level, nearly 500 former members of Congress are lobbyists, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Gregg had served as Iowa’s lieutenant governor since 2017, when he was selected by Reynolds when she acceded to the governor’s office.
Advocates for government transparency and accountability, like the Center for Responsive Politics, express caution about the revolving door.
“While officials in the executive branch, Congress and senior congressional staffers spin in and out of the private and public sectors, so too does privilege, power, access and, of course, money,” the Center says on its website.
