Former Sen. Roy Blunt joins DC lobbying firm

Former Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) on Wednesday joined Husch Blackwell Strategies, a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm with close ties to the veteran GOP senator.

Blunt will lead a newly launched strategic advisory practice at the firm, which is run by Gregg Hartley, Blunt’s former chief of staff in the House, and Andy Blunt, his son. Blunt will also reunite with Stacy McBride, his chief of staff in the Senate who joined the firm last month.

Blunt recently retired from Congress after 26 years in office. He held several prominent roles, chairing the Senate Rules Committee and Senate Republican Policy Committee and serving as the No. 2 Republican in the House. He was a trusted adviser to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Blunt is the third senator from the 117th Congress to announce a new gig. Former Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) joined lobbying and law firm DLA Piper in a similar advisory role. Former Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) joined the American Enterprise Institute as a public policy fellow.

The Missouri Republican, who served on the Senate Intelligence Committee, will maintain his security clearance and continue to advise the intelligence community separate from his role at the firm. He’ll also stay on as the recently elected president of the State Historical Society of Missouri.

Blunt gained a reputation as a dealmaker and institutionalist. One of his last moves in Congress was passing the Electoral Count Reform Act, a bipartisan measure to clarify lawmakers’ role in certifying the presidential election and prevent a repeat of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

“When Senator Blunt gets people in a room together, great things happen, and I look forward to seeing those results,” Neil Bradley, the top lobbyist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a press release from Husch Blackwell Strategies.

Blunt does not plan on registering to lobby and will focus on advising clients, the firm said. After leaving Congress, senators must wait two years before lobbying their former colleagues.

Ex-lawmakers are increasingly choosing to advise clients rather than register to lobby after their lobbying prohibition ends, which keeps their clients hidden from the public.

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