John Boehner Rises From the Ashtray of Political Defeat to Become a Tobacco Lobbyist
John Boehner has cashed out.
That is the news from The Intercept, which describes how the former Speaker of the House is “monetizing his decades of political relationships and cashing out to serve some of the most powerful special interests in the world.”
In other words, in less than one year since leaving Congress, Boehner has become a lobbyist. Lee Fang and The Intercept report:
Boehner is joining Squire Patton Boggs, a lobbying firm that peddles its considerable influence on behalf of a number of foreign nations, including most notably the People’s Republic of China. Serving Beijing is somewhat appropriate: Boehner has long been a supporter of unfettered trade, helping to lead the effort to grant Most Favored Nation status to China. Squire Patton Boggs also represents a long list of corporate clients, including AT&T, Amazon.com, Goldman Sachs & Co., Royal Dutch Shell, and the Managed Funds Association, a trade group for the largest hedge funds in the country.
Boehner is signing onto Squire Patton Boggs “as a strategic advisor to clients in the U.S. and abroad, and will focus on global business development.”
The news comes just a week after the announcement that Boehner will be joining the board of Reynolds American, the tobacco company responsible for brands such as Camel and Newport cigarettes. The tobacco board seat will likely earn Boehner over $400,000 a year in stock and cash. The Squire Patton Boggs salary has not been disclosed, but lawmakers of Boehner’s stature have easily obtained salaries at similar gigs in the seven-figure range.
This was entirely predictable. K Street is a revolving door for former politicians who seek to make a quick buck using the relationships they have built in the legislature to dance bills to the tune of lobbying firms.
Boehner has always served special interests. Now he’s just doing it from outside Congress, instead of inside. (For more from the author of “John Boehner Rises From the Ashtray of Political Defeat to Become a Tobacco Lobbyist” please click HERE)
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