Kay Hagan, the former Democratic senator from North Carolina who lost her seat in a tight 2014 election contest, is joining Washington, D.C., lobbying firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.
The Hill reported that the firm, which is the largest lobbying firm in the nation’s capital when measuring revenue, will announce its new hire Monday.
Hagan will serve as a senior policy consultant in Akin Gump’s public law and policy practice and has not said whether she will eventually register to lobby.
"That’s something we’ll look at down the road," Hagan told The Hill. As a former senator, Hagan is not allowed to advocate before members of Congress for two years following her exit from Capitol Hill. The North Carolina Democrat was beat by then-Rep. Tom Tillis, a Republican, in 2014 in a key race that helped Republicans gain control of the Senate.
Hagan therefore cannot register to lobby until the end of 2016, following this year’s presidential election. She said that she was attracted to Akin and Gump because of its bipartisan work.
"For me, having spent time in Washington and through the gridlock in the last years that I was there," Hagan said. "They have Democrats and Republicans and they encourage work within the political sphere."
The former senator is currently a surrogate for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Clinton has long been criticized by liberals for accepting millions of dollars from lobbyists throughout her political career. During the first three quarters of 2015, Clinton’s presidential campaign received $3.2 million from registered lobbyists, according to Politico. Over time, the former secretary of state has received over $360,000 from individuals and committees associated with Akin Gump, according to Open Secrets, making the firm one of her top lobbyist contributors.
Hagan is one of multiple Democrats who lost their positions in the 2014 election and who have gone on to work for D.C. lobbying firms. These include Mark Pryor (Ark.), Mark Begich (Alaska), and Mary Landrieu (La.).