US interest groups

Question 1

What is the ratio of lobbyists to members of Congress?

Answer 1

There is a ratio of roughly 13,000 lobbyists to 535 members of Congress.

Question 2

How much did pro-gun groups spend on lobbying from 1998 to 2020?

Answer 2

From 1998 to 2020, pro-gun groups paid $171.9 million in federal lobbying, with the NRA alone paying over $63 million.

Question 3

How much did the NRA spend in the 2016 election?

Answer 3

In 2016, the NRA spent $30 million to elect Donald Trump – more than any other single interest group that cycle.

Question 4

What is the NRA rating system?

Answer 4

The NRA rating system (A–F grades for politicians) is a key non-financial resource — candidates with low ratings face targeted opposition campaigns.

Question 5

What happened to Wayne LaPierre in 2024?

Answer 5

In February 2024, former NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre was found liable for misusing millions of dollars, with NRA revenue falling and lobbying hitting its lowest spend since 2009 at $540,000 in Q1 2024.

Question 6

How much did the pharmaceutical industry spend on lobbying in 2025?

Answer 6

The pharmaceutical industry spent $227 million on federal lobbying in the first half of 2025 alone, on pace to easily surpass its all-time high of $388 million for 2024.

Question 7

What is the size of the AFL-CIO?

Answer 7

In Jan. 2025, the AFL-CIO had 61 member unions representing nearly 15 million workers.

Question 8

How much did AIPAC-affiliated Super PACs spend in 2024?

Answer 8

In the 2024 election cycle, AIPAC-affiliated Super PACs spent over $100 million

Question 9

What did the Sierra Club do in 2025?

Answer 9

In 2025, the Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program launched more than 200 legal actions to challenge the fossil fuel industry and filed over 100 actions to advance renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Question 10

What did the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign achieve?

Answer 10

The Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal” campaign combined grassroots mobilisation, lobbying, and litigation to secure the retirement of over 300 coal plants between 2010 and 2020

Question 11

How has dark money changed since 2006?

Answer 11

Dark money expenditures increased from less than $5 million in 2006 to more than $1 billion in the 2024 presidential elections alone.

Question 12

What percentage of NRA funds went to Republicans in 2024?

Answer 12

In 2024, over 98% of NRA-connected funds contributed to candidates went to Republicans, showing near-total partisan alignment.

Question 13

Which Democrats received AIPAC funding?

Answer 13

Three AIPAC-backed Democratic representatives – Greg Landsman, Josh Gottheimer, and Jared Moskowitz – have received a combined $1.7 million from AIPAC

The War Powers Act resolution, which would have required the administration to halt U.S. strikes against Iran, was introduced by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a libertarian and open critic of Israel, and co-sponsored by 94 Democrats.

Moskowitz calling it the “Ayatollah Protection Act”.

initially opposed it, u-turn to vote in line with party

Question 14

What is the IRA Watchdog coalition?

Answer 14

In 2025, Merck, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Eli Lilly formed a new lobbying coalition called “IRA Watchdog” specifically to present lawmakers with research framing Medicare drug price negotiations negatively.

Question 15

How active was the ACLU early in Trump’s second term?

Answer 15

Within just 100 days of Trump’s second term, the ACLU had filed 53 lawsuits against his administration.

Question 16

What is Barbara v. Trump about?

Answer 16

The ACLU filed Barbara v. Trump challenging Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order; federal courts have repeatedly blocked the administration, and the case is now heading to the Supreme Court

Question 17

What campaign did the AFL-CIO launch in 2025?

Answer 17

The AFL-CIO in 2025 launched a campaign supporting the Protect America’s Workforce Act after Trump’s executive order stripped collective bargaining rights from nearly 1 million federal employees.

Question 18

How much did Elon Musk spend in the 2024 election?

Answer 18

Elon Musk spent more than $290 million on the 2024 election and was subsequently appointed by Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency.

Question 19

What role did the Koch network play?

Answer 19

The Koch network’s dark money group Stand Together Chamber of Commerce was directly consulted by senators seeking to kill the For the People Act (2021).

Question 20

How did interest groups influence Obergefell v. Hodges?

Answer 20

In Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), the Human Rights Campaign filed an amicus brief arguing the Fourteenth Amendment required equal marriage rights; the Supreme Court agreed in a 5-4 ruling — a textbook example of an interest group directly shaping a landmark judicial outcome.

Question 21

What is J.G.G. v. Trump about?

Answer 21

The ACLU filed J.G.G. v. Trump challenging Trump’s use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to accelerate deportations; on 4 June 2025, a district court granted a preliminary injunction requiring the government to allow those removed to seek habeas relief.

Question 22

What did Citizens United v. FEC decide?

Answer 22

Citizens United v. FEC (2010): the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that corporations and unions could make unlimited independent expenditures, overturning a century of campaign finance law and creating the legal basis for Super PACs.

Question 23

What did SpeechNow.org v. FEC decide?

Answer 23

SpeechNow.org v. FEC (2010): two months later, the DC Circuit extended this logic to allow Super PACs to accept unlimited contributions — the direct legal origin of the Super PAC era.

Question 24

What did Sheldon Adelson donate and achieve?

Answer 24

Sheldon Adelson and his wife donated over $100 million to conservative Super PACs in 2020; under the Trump administration, the Adelsons achieved their long-held goal of relocating the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2018.

Question 25

What did Binance spend on lobbying?

Answer 25

Binance, whose founder had pleaded guilty to money laundering in 2023, paid the lobbying firm Checkmate $450,000 for a single month of work lobbying the White House; Trump subsequently pardoned the founder.

Question 26

What did the FEC rule in 2024?

Answer 26

In 2024, a Federal Election Commission ruling eased restrictions on Super PACs, allowing them to coordinate with campaigns for canvassing purposes — further blurring the line between "independent" spending and direct campaign coordination.

Question 27

What happened with Maine’s Super PAC law?

Answer 27

Maine voters approved a ballot measure limiting Super PAC contributions to $5,000 in 2024, but two Super PACs sued; in July 2025 a federal judge ruled in their favour, and the case is now before the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

Question 28

How influential is the US Chamber of Commerce?

Answer 28

Despite the US Chamber of Commerce being the country's largest lobbying organisation and surpassing $20 million in lobbying expenditure in 2025, the White House flatly dismissed its request for small business tariff relief in May 2025.

Question 29

How does Greenpeace operate?

Answer 29

Greenpeace spent only $16,069 on federal lobbying in 2024, relying instead on direct action tactics – in March 2025, a North Dakota jury found Greenpeace liable for over $660 million in damages for its role in the 2016 Standing Rock protests.

Question 30

What did NAM lobby against?

Answer 30

NAM lobbied heavily against Trump's 2025 tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, arguing they raised manufacturing costs and undermined competitiveness.