Reid fundraiser with Obama will shut out lobbyists, PACs

The Hotline reports that Sen. Harry Reid won't take lobbyist or political action committee donations at his presidential fundraisier in Las Vegas next month.

President Barack Obama is scheduled to come to town May 26 to headline the event for Reid. Another upcoming fundraiser featuring Obama, the annual dinner of the Democrats' House and Senate committees, also will forgo lobbyist and PAC contributions, hewing to the line Obama took during his campaign.

A Reid spokesman told the Hotline that rule would apply to the event here as well.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee jumped on the report as evidence of hypocrisy, noting that Reid has taken lobbyist money and defended lobbyists in the past. In a January interview with ABC News, Reid said, "People should understand that lobbyists, per se, are someone’s father, mother, son, daughter." In fact, Reid himself has relatives who are lobbyists.

“Why are lobbyists barred from Reid’s Nevada fundraiser next month if he believes there’s nothing wrong with taking their money the other 364 days a year?" the NRSC's Brian Walsh said in a news release.