Ex-Rep. Henry Waxman lands on K St.

Recently retired Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) is headed to K Street.

Waxman Strategies, a consulting firm owned by his son Michael, announced the move on Tuesday. The veteran congressman will serve as the chairman of the firm.

“I’m thrilled at the opportunity to partner with my father and continue his work advancing positive legislative change,” the younger Waxman, who is president and CEO of the firm, said in a statement. “His decades of Congressional experience will provide our clients with unique insights and strategies to advance real change in Washington.”

Waxman served 40 years in Congress, including high-profile roles on the House Energy & Commerce Committee and the Committee on Oversight & Government Reform, and built his legacy as a prolific legislator and fervent investigator.

“I look forward to representing a select group of clients, helping them navigate the legislative and regulatory process, communicate effectively and get results,” the former congressman said.

He will focus on clients in the healthcare, environment, energy, technology and telecommunications arenas, including helping those involved in congressional investigations. The firm’s clients are not publicly disclosed.

While Waxman is required by ethics laws not to lobby his colleagues for at least one year, he told Politico that he might consider advocacy once his “cooling off” period expires.

The small firm, however, specializes in grassroots and communications work and has never had a registered lobbyist.

Michael Waxman told The Hill that most of the firm’s work “is behind the scenes” and it has no plans to get into the advocacy business just yet.

“As needed, we plan to help our clients engage with the best possible lobbyists and work collaboratively with everyone to get the job done,” he wrote in an email.

The elder Waxman, 75, was a lawyer before being elected to Congress in 1975. The National Law Journal reported on Monday that Waxman had even searched for another law-focused gig on K Street before his departure from Capitol Hill.

He wrote a “business plan,” according to the publication, and sent it to public policy group managers at firms around town. Waxman also consulted others who left Congress to work in private practice.

“It got to be more of a morass than I had wanted to deal with,” Waxman told The National Law Journal.

“I wouldn’t want a firm to represent something I didn’t agree with,” he continued. “There are many special interest groups that I often found myself opposed to in my congressional career.”