Pat Roberts joins Washington-based lobbying firm weeks after retirement from Senate
Former Kansas Republican Sen. Pat Roberts has joined a Washington-based lobbying and consulting firm as a partner less than two months after his retirement from the U.S. Senate.
Roberts, the longest-serving federal lawmaker in Kansas history, has joined Capitol Counsel, a firm whose clients include Lockheed Martin and Comcast. The firm touted Senate Agriculture chairman’s status as an “Ag Specialist,” in its announcement.
Roberts, 84, will be prohibited from lobbying his former colleagues in the U.S. Senate for two years, but he doesn’t face the same restrictions with the executive branch.
“I can contact any federal agency, whatever,” Roberts said in a phone call, noting he has already reached out to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.
“With ag I see so much going on, everything we deregulated is going to be regulated,” Roberts said.
Roberts’ primary role at the firm will be advising clients on legislative strategy. While he’ll be restricted from directly lobbying on legislation, he’s got longstanding relationships with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and former staffers who work on key committees.
“His unmatched experience offers our clients best-in-class strategic advice, and we are honored to have him join our team,” Shannon Finley, a partner at the firm, said in a statement announcing Roberts’ position.
“The first rule is to count the votes,” Roberts joked in a phone call.
The longstanding practice of lawmakers and other government officials transitioning to careers focused on influencing the government is typically referred to as “the revolving door.”
Proposed reforms to slow down or halt the practice have gained little traction in Congress.
“That’s the classic abuse of the revolving door. Pat Roberts is highly connected in Congress... and as a result he’d be very expensive,” said Craig Holman, a lobbyist for Public Citizen, a group which advocates for stricter rules on lobbying.
Holman said that while Roberts would be restricted from directly lobbying former colleagues, his name and influence will ensure clients’ access to lawmakers.
“It not only grants them access, but Pat Roberts will identify the people who they should be talking to in any lobbying campaign,” Holman said. “It opens doors and it opens the right doors.”
Roberts follows a long list of Kansas lawmakers in pursuing a career as consultant or lobbyist after leaving Congress. Former Reps. Kevin Yoder and Lynn Jenkins both launched careers as lobbyists after leaving the U.S. House in 2019.
And Roberts’ mentor, former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, enjoyed a long career as a lobbyist after leaving the Senate in 1996.
This story was originally published February 25, 2021 at 3:35 PM.
