Ex-GOP Rep. Denham heads to lobbying firm

The law and lobbying firm K&L Gates has hired former Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) as a government affairs counselor at the public policy and law practice.

The California Republican served four terms before losing his reelection bid in November to Rep. Josh Harder (D-Calif.). 

“Anyone who knows Jeff knows that he is a go-getter,” said Darrell Conner, co-leader of the policy practice in D.C., said in a statement. “He did so as a member of Congress, as a candidate, and as a business owner. He’s going to be a great addition to the K&L Gates’ team.”

{mosads}Denham previously served as chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials and was a member of the Agriculture and the Veterans’ Affairs committees. He was also a member of the moderate Republican Main Street Partnership and the U.S.-Japan Caucus.

Before Congress, Denham was in the California state Senate and served in the Air Force in Operation Desert Storm in Iraq and Operation Restore Hope in Somalia.

He also founded the company Denham Plastics LLC, which is a provider of sustainable plastic material handling solutions, and he owns an almond farm in California.

Denham joins the long list of former GOP lawmakers who are now at lobbying firms, including ex-Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas), who is at Clark Hill; ex-Reps. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), who are in Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP’s Washington office; and former Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), who is at Squire Patton Boggs.