Former Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean has joined McKenna Long & Aldridge as an independent consultant for the firm's government affairs practice in Washington.
In his new role as a senior strategic adviser and independent consultant, the firm says Dean will consult with clients on a variety of public policy issues with a focus on health care, energy, and public-private partnerships at the state and local level. The firm says he has no intention of lobbying on behalf of clients.
Gordon Giffin, who chairs the firm’s public policy practice, says Dean will serve as a “lightening rod on public policy issues for [the] firm.”
“Governor Dean is a highly respected policy thinker and has been for years,” Giffin tells The BLT. “He will provide us with stature and gravitas, if you will, in the public policy arena.”
The move to the private sector comes shortly after President Barack Obama bypassed the former governor of Vermont as his choice for secretary of Health and Human Services in favor of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas. The post had previously been offered to former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), a special policy adviser at Alston & Bird, but Daschle withdrew his name after issues with his taxes came to light.
In a March 1 interview with The Huffington Post, Dean expressed disappointment that he was not tapped for the HHS post.
"I was pretty clear that I would have liked to have been Secretary of HHS but it is the president's choice and he decided to go in a different direction," Dean says in the HuffPo interview.
Dean could not be reached for additional comment.
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