Cyclo
What are America’s former senators doing now? Lobbying, lawyering, holding new office … but mostly lobbying.
The job of united states senator, though not without its perks and prestige, is a rawer deal than it may seem. Its main responsibilities involve petty humiliations and untelevised subcommittee hearings, and unless you possess the magnetism of a John F. Kennedy or a Barack Obama, you don’t even get to be president.
No wonder, then, that so many senators cash in when they depart Congress. While some dive into the smaller pond of state politics and others climb the ivory tower, the vast majority of Senate retirees pursue opportunities as lobbyists in the ever-thriving private sector. We examined the second acts of all the living senators who have left the body since 2004 and discovered that the next-best thing to a key to the executive mansion is the one to the executive washroom at Patton Boggs.
ACTUALLY RETIRED *
DANIEL AKAKA
RETIRED, 2012.
JEFF BINGAMAN
RETIRED, 2012.
JIM BUNNING
RETIRED, 2010.
Known as the Senate’s resident crank, Bunning was all but forced into retirement in 2010 by his Kentucky colleague Mitch McConnell. Since then, he seems to have done the impossible by actually keeping his name out of the papers—until January, when he emerged from retirement to manage a local campaign for sheriff.
LIDDY DOLE
DEFEATED, 2008.
PETE DOMENICI
RETIRED, 2008.
BOB GRAHAM
RETIRED, 2004.
FRITZ HOLLINGS
RETIRED, 2004.
JIM JEFFORDS
RETIRED, 2006.
TED KAUFMAN
RETIRED, 2010.
PAUL KIRK
RETIRED, 2010.
HERB KOHL
RETIRED, 2012.
DICK LUGAR
DEFEATED IN PRIMARY, 2012.
ZELL MILLER
RETIRED, 2004.
PAUL SARBANES
RETIRED, 2006.
GEORGE VOINOVICH
RETIRED, 2010.
*Does not account for potential part-time work on corporate boards, think tanks, or universities.
HIGH PAYING ODD JOBS
ROLAND BURRIS
RETIRED, 2010. Practicing law at Burris & Associates
JEFFREY CHIESA
RETIRED, 2013. Practicing law at Wolff & Samson
KENT CONRAD
RETIRED, 2012. Board of Directors at Genworth Finance, Steering Committee at Campaign to Fix the Debt
JON CORZINE
RESIGNED, 2005. Governor of New Jersey, 2006–2010; CEO, MF Global, 2010–2011
JIM DEMINT
RETIRED, 2012. Heritage Foundation
The South Carolina Republican was a Tea Party godfather until resigning at the end of President Obama’s first term. Formerly one of the poorest senators, he saw his earnings skyrocket when he became head of the Heritage Foundation, which he has transformed from a think tank into an interest group.
JOHN EDWARDS
RETIRED, 2004. Practicing law at Edwards Kirby
JOHN ENSIGN
RESIGNED, 2011. Veterinarian
RUSS FEINGOLD
DEFEATED, 2010. State Department Envoy
PETER FITZGERALD
RETIRED, 2004. Founder and Chairman, Chain Bridge Bank
BILL FRIST
RETIRED, 2006. Partner at Cressey & Co.
CARTE GOODWIN
RETIRED, 2010. Practicing law at Goodwin & Goodwin
GEORGE LEMIEUX
RETIRED, 2010. Practicing law at Gunster
KEN SALAZAR
RESIGNED, 2009. U.S. Secretary of the Interior, 2009– 2013; practicing law at WilmerHale
OLYMPIA SNOWE
RETIRED, 2012. Founder, Olympia’s List
Since retiring in 2012, Snowe has started a political action committee to support Congress’s remaining centrists—and joined the board of investment firm T. Rowe Price, where her yearly compensation will likely top $300,000.
JIM WEBB
RETIRED, 2012. Writer
LOBBYISTS & CONSULTANTS
WAYNE ALLARD
retired, 2008. Livingston Group
GEORGE ALLEN
defeated, 2006. George Allen Strategies
Once considered a contender for the White House, Allen lost his Senate seat in 2006 after calling an Indian man a racial slur. Now, his consulting firm is advising Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder against changing the team name.
KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON
RETIRED, 2012. Bracewell & Giuliani
EVAN BAYH
RETIRED, 2010. McGuireWoods
BOB BENNETT
DEFEATED IN PRIMARY, 2010. Arent Fox
KIT BOND
RETIRED, 2010. Kit Bond Strategies
JOHN BREAUX
RETIRED, 2004. Patton Boggs
SCOTT BROWN
DEFEATED, 2012. Nixon-Peabody
The short-lived “people’s senator” has kept several irons in the fire since his 2012 defeat. He has signed on at lobbying firm Nixon Peabody, draws paychecks as a contributor at Fox News, and is even mulling a campaign in neighboring New Hampshire.
CONRAD BURNS
DEFEATED, 2006. Gage International
NORM COLEMAN
DEFEATED, 2008. Hogan Lovells
MO COWAN
RETIRED, 2013. ML Strategies
LARRY CRAIG
RETIRED, 2008. New West Strategies
TOM DASCHLE
DEFEATED, 2004. DLA Piper
CHRIS DODD
RETIRED, 2010. Motion Picture Association of America
Dodd vowed never to lobby his former colleagues after his retirement in 2010. Not long thereafter, he became president of the Motion Picture Association of America, where he lobbies on behalf of Hollywood for an annual payday of more than $3 million.
BYRON DORGAN
RETIRED, 2010. Arent Fox
JUDD GREGG
RETIRED, 2010. Security Industry and Financial Markets Association
JON KYL
RETIRED, 2012. Arent Fox
JOE LIEBERMAN
RETIRED, 2012. Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman
BLANCHE LINCOLN
DEFEATED, 2010. Lincoln Policy Group
A casualty of 2010’s Republican wave, Lincoln was considered a good candidate for the Obama Cabinet. Instead, the former Agriculture Committee chairwoman now runs interference for agriculture giant Monsanto and other former campaign contributors.
TRENT LOTT
RESIGNED, 2007. Patton Boggs
MEL MARTINEZ
RESIGNED, 2009. DLA Piper
BEN NELSON
RETIRED, 2012. National Association of Insurance Commissioners
Friendly to insurance interests while in office, Nelson received a nearly 450 percent pay bump to become the CEO of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in January of last year.