In an article for The Hill, McCormick Group Principal Ivan Adler explains why congressional staffers are flocking to K street.
By Megan R. Wilson | July 28, 2014
The revolving door is turning quickly in 2014, with more than 220 Capitol Hill staffers leaving their jobs to become registered lobbyists in the first six months of the year, according to a new report.
Legistorm, an organization that compiles and analyzes congressional data, reported that the number of departures to K Street in 2014 is on pace to exceed the last election year of 2012, when about 329 staffers left to go lobby.
Headhunters said a number of factors explain the jump, including a “brain drain” of ambitious aides who are frustrated by the legislative gridlock.
“I think they’re seeing the reality of Congress today and the inability to get things done, which leads them to seek other alternatives — which, by the way, includes less hours and higher pay,” said Ivan Adler, a principal at The McCormick Group.
“People work on the Hill because they truly believe they can make a difference, and they join the legislative branch to do so. However, I think there is a lot of frustration with the inability to get things done that is driving people away from this mission,” he added.
Chris Jones, who is a headhunter for K Street but also runs a business that places people in government jobs, said some lobby firms are making moves to prepare for what comes after the midterm elections in November.
The moves to downtown are a signal that staffers are “anticipating some shakeup in 2014,” said Jones, a managing partner at the public affairs executive search firm CapitolWorks.
There is a possibility the Senate could flip to the GOP, he said, and “some people might be getting jobs, but other people might be losing their jobs.
To read the rest of the article, go to | The Hill
To contact Ivan Adler, go to | Ivan Adler
