The district that sent him to Congress doesn’t have a new representative yet, but former Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Charlie Dent already has a new job. Two jobs, actually.
While his constituents will end the month without a voice on Capitol Hill, Dent has scored a slot on cable television and a prominent perch on K Street. Less than two weeks after officially calling it quits, he announced a gig with CNN as a political commentator. Almost three weeks later, he has now landed a job as a senior policy adviser with international law firm DLA Piper.
That means the electorate in Pennsylvania’s 15th Congressional District will be without a representative through the summer and also the fall until Nov. 6, when Gov. Tom Wolf has called a special election. The winner will serve just two months before the seat is absorbed into the new Congressional District 7.
But that ugly impropriety wasn’t a factor for DLA Piper. In a statement to Politico, who first broke the story, a spokesman praised Dent’s “many strong relationships with elected officials from both parties” as well as “his deep understanding of Congress and a range of international and domestic issues.”
And if Dent has any regrets, he hasn’t shown it publicly. During his retirement announcement, the former chairman of the centrist Tuesday Group promised “to continue my role both inside and soon outside of government, of giving voice to the sensible center and working to solve problems for the American people.” Apparently that meant knocking off work early.
It isn’t clear whether Dent plans on lobbying. But by quitting early, Dent gave himself a head start on the droves of other House Republicans who will soon be leaving or who will be forced out of Congress after the election. Cable gives him visibility, and the policy adviser role gives him traction to win over future clients.
When the mandatory one-year “cooling off period” ends on May 13, 2019, expect Dent to be a hot lobbying commodity.
