Thomas joins Buchanan as senior adviser

Former Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Calif.), who chaired the powerful Ways and Means Committee, will join Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney as a senior adviser, the firm announced Wednesday.

Thomas will be joined by Alex Brill, who worked for the California lawmaker on the committee. According to the firm, the two will “provide strategic direction, advocate policy reform and offer legislative solutions to clients.”

{mosads}The announcement comes two days after Buchanan announced that Robert Winters joined the firm as a shareholder. Winters was the chief tax counsel on Ways and Means under Thomas.

“It’s critical to be a bipartisan shop in order to successfully serve clients,” the head of Buchanan’s Federal Government Relations Section, Ron Platt, said. “Bringing on Bill and Alex, and their experience from years of getting things done in Congress, will be a tremendous advantage to our clients as well as our own government relations team.”

Thomas will continue to be a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. The former Ways and Means chairman was a driving force behind the passage of the Medicare prescription drug benefit and also shepherded President Bush’s tax cuts and trade deals through Congress.