Former WH liaison to Congress joins law firm

President Obama’s former liaison to Congress has joined the policy shop at a law and lobby firm in Washington.

Miguel E. Rodriguez, who had served as an assistant to Obama and the White House’s chief connection to congressional lawmakers, will become a partner in Bryan Cave’s public policy and government affairs practice. 

{mosads}“I’m eager to work with my new colleagues, using my experience in both the legislative and executive branches to continue the firm’s longstanding and well-earned reputation of providing its clients with the kind of sound advice and strategic counsel they need to tackle the complex problems they face,” he said.

Therese Pritchard, chair-elect at Bryan Cave, touted Rodriguez’s broad experience in government.

“We are confident that Miguel’s experience at the White House, State Department and Senate will enable him to help our clients have their voices heard on issues of importance to them,” she said in a statement.

Bryan Cave is an international law firm, whose lobby shop netted about $2.2 million in 2013, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Ethics rules require Rodriguez to have a “cooling off” period before he can register as a lobbyist, and additional rules imposed by Obama ban him from lobbying certain individuals in the executive branch.

Rodriguez initially joined the White House in 2011, before becoming the director of legislative affairs in 2013.

He unceremoniously left the post in December. Earlier in the year, Republicans on Capitol Hill had expressed puzzlement about who Rodriguez was, saying they had rarely, if ever, worked with him.

The White House said Rodriguez’s relative obscurity was part of the attraction for his hire, because he didn’t carry baggage from relationships past and focused only on “getting the job done.”

Before heading to the White House, Rodriguez spent two years as the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for Senate affairs and, from 2005 to 2009, worked as the chief counsel to then-New York Sen. Hillary Clinton (D).