A government official might leave her position and join a corporation to which she previously awarded government contracts. This is a clear example of

• A. Agency lacing
• B. A conflict of interest
• C. Government operating on its own inner logic
• D. The revolving door

Answer: (D)

This situation illustrates the revolving door, a term for the pattern of people moving between government roles and private-sector positions, especially when those roles involve awarding contracts or shaping policy. When a official leaves government to join a company she once awarded contracts to, it raises the possibility that insider access, contacts, or influence could benefit the private firm and, in turn, influence future government decisions. That dynamic is exactly what the revolving door describes.

A conflict of interest is a related concern—a risk that personal interests could improperly influence official actions—but the scenario best fits the revolving door because it emphasizes the career movement between public power and private gain. The other options aren’t standard terms for this phenomenon, and they don’t capture the pattern of moving between government and the contracting private sector.