ICYMI: “Exclusive: Susan Collins Will Receive Award at D.C. 'Lobbyist Prom' This Month” [MeidasTouch]

Augusta, Maine - In case you missed it, Susan Collins is set to receive the Bryce Harlow Award this week at Washington, D.C.'s "Lobbyist Prom" - an annual gala backed by corporate lobbyists and Big Pharma.

The award, named for one of the original "revolving door" politicians, recognizes leaders in business-government relations with deep ties to corporate lobbyists - a fitting distinction for Collins, who has taken more than $1.2 million from lobbyists during her time in the Senate.

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MeidasTouch: Exclusive: Susan Collins Will Receive Award at D.C. 'Lobbyist Prom' This Month

By Troy Matthews

April 10, 2026

• Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine is scheduled to be honored by a corporate lobbyist foundation next week at an annual event that has been dubbed Washington, D.C.'s "Lobbyist Prom," where she will receive an award named for the original "revolving door" politician.

• The award Collins will receive "recognizes an individual's contribution to the field of business-government relations, influence in advancing…cooperation between business and government, and role championing dedication and professionalism in the business-government relations community."

• The Bryce Harlow Foundation's annual gala was described as "The premier social event for Washington's lobbyists," by the Washington Post in 2004. The name "Lobbyist Prom" was coined by Harlow Foundation Board member Matthew Shay in a post from 2013. The term was again used in a Politico article from 2016.

• The sponsors for this year's event include Big Pharma's main lobbying arm: the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA), which fought against lowering prescription drug costs and lobbied to repeal the Affordable Care Act, along with drug company Johnson & Johnson.

• Collins' senate office has employed nearly 90 staffers that previously were or later became lobbyists, including multiple staffers who lobbied for PhRMA.

• Susan Collins has taken more than $1.2 million from lobbyists during her time in the Senate. Since 2010, Collins has failed seven times to cosponsor legislation to impose a lifetime ban on members of congress becoming lobbyists.

• The foundation and award are named for former Congressman Bryce Harlow, a multi-decade Republican representative and Eisenhower speech writer who became the first major politician-turned-lobbyist when he started working for Procter & Gamble Company during the Kennedy Administration.

• Harlow was called the "Dean" of corporate relations in Congress, and is now known as the originator the "revolving door" between politics and big lobbyist firms.

• "He was one of the original 'revolving door' practitioners," said John Vogt, a financial services lobbyist and chairman of the foundation, "and he proved it could be done with unquestioned integrity.'"

• The Bryce Harlow Foundation states its mission includes: "encouraging and supporting the next generation of leaders in the lobbying, government relations and related professions through an annual, competitive and prestigious fellowship."

• Susan Collins is literally receiving the revolving door lifetime achievement award from a group of people who exist to reward incredibly lucrative jobs to ex-politicians who served major corporations instead of their constituents while in congress.

• Collins has been in the United States Senate for 30 years. She is running for another six-year term in November of this year.

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