Lobbying firm cuts ties to Trent Lott amid national anti-racism protests

Lobbying firm Squire Patton Boggs announced Monday evening it is severing ties with former Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) following days of anti-racism protests across the country.

Mark Ruehlmann, chair and global CEO of Squire Patton Boggs, said in a statement that the firm “decided that it is the right time to make a change in the leadership of our industry leading Public Policy practice.”

Lott served as co-chair of the firm’s public policy practice. He stepped down as Senate Republican leader in 2002 after receiving backlash over remarks praising former Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), who was famously pro-segregation, for winning Mississippi in the 1948 presidential election. 

“As a global law firm, we are obliged to constantly evaluate and tailor our professional offerings to not only respond, but also anticipate the issues and concerns of an evolving marketplace and the clients we serve,” Ruehlmann said in the statement. 

Lott apologized for his remarks, which then-President George W. Bush said were offensive, and stepped down days later. He left the Senate four years later after serving as Senate minority whip. 

Lott opened up a lobbying firm with ex-Sen. John Breaux (D-La.) in 2008, which was purchased by Patton Boggs in 2010.

Lobbyists Ed Newberry and Robert Kapla have been running the day-to-day operations of the public policy practice for some time and will continue to do so, according to a Squire Patton Boggs source.

Ruehlmann noted the remaining team includes Breaux, former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), former Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.), former Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater, and former Reps. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), and Jack Kingston (R-Ga.).