Right-wing legal interests funded by the megawealthy are routinely feting lower-court judges and treating them to all-expenses-paid trips, which effectively function as a reward system for judges who espouse and maintain hard-line conservative legal views.
A low level government employee would loss their job if someone takes them out to a nice dinner.
We don’t need to make it illegal, it already is.
We need to start enforcing the rules across the board.
If I accept “gifts” above a very small amount it’s a big deal. With inflation it got to the point we could barely have meals or celebrations with vendors when major projects were completed. Private sector is rife with this behavior though, corporate boxes at sporting venues etc. and the schmoozing.