Trump White House ringed by 'swamp' denizens despite pledge

[...] it demonstrates the uncomfortable reality Trump faces if he is serious about his promises to "drain the swamp" of those who use their ties to public officials to make "a fortune."

The Trump campaign was far smaller and newer to politics than most, meaning those who have not gone into the administration are in hot demand by companies and industry groups hoping to make inroads with the new president.

Scott Mason, who was Trump's chief liaison to the House through the campaign and transition, joined the government affairs firm Holland & Knight as a senior policy adviser this month.

Trump's former campaign national field director, Stuart Jolly, signed on as president of Sonoran Policy Group and has already helped connect the firm's clients, including the New Zealand embassy, with new administration.

Jolly, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, said confidence in his own character — which he described as not swamp-like at all — leaves him with no qualms about his work in the influence industry.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer's wife, Rebecca Spicer, has spent a decade with the influential trade group National Beer Wholesalers Association, serving as its chief communications officer.

Two of Trump's most senior campaign and transition advisers, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, have their own tightly entwined histories of government service and high-paying jobs leveraging that experience.

The role appears to mirror his paid gigs, as chairman of global cybersecurity practice at Greenberg Traurig and chairman and chief executive officer of security consulting firm Giuliani Partners.