The record

LegislationLegislation· Apr 2026
S 2132 Passed Senate — in House

Sponsored by John Cornyn (R)

CLEAR Path Act

Bars senior U.S. officials from working for foreign governments on behalf of countries deemed hostile.

Tradeoff

Restricts post-government employment for Senate-confirmed officials who work for or advise foreign governments from countries of concern. The restriction lasts five years and applies only to officials appointed after the bill becomes law.

What's in it

See official bill text

Reduces net deficits by less than $500,000 over 2026-2035; implementation costs less than $500,000.

The federal cost to administer this restriction on former officials' activities is negligible (less than $500,000 over 10 years)—the policy's real impact falls on former senior executive branch and Senate-confirmed officials who would face civil or criminal penalties for advising or lobbying countries of concern after they leave office.

S. 2132, CLEAR Path Act · Jan 2026

Passed the Senate by on April 21, 2026 — now in the House.

  1. Senate

    Introduced

    (Jun 18, 2025)

  2. Senate

    Committee on the Judiciary(Jun 18, 2025)

  3. Senate

    The Committee on the Judiciary voted to send it to the floor

    Reported(Jan 15, 2026)

  4. Senate

    Passage of the bill

    Passed by (Apr 21, 2026)

    No individual votes were recorded.

  5. House

    Received from the Senate

    Received(Apr 22, 2026)