House Speaker-elect John Boehner announced Thursday that he hired the medical device industry’s chief lobbyist as his policy director, adding to a growing number of Republican lawmakers who have recruited top aides from K Street. Brett Loper, senior executive vice president at the Advanced Medical Technology Association, was deeply involved in the health care debate and fought against the fees Democrats ultimately assessed the industry to help pay for reform.
“I'm very pleased Brett will be joining our team,” Boehner said in a statement. “There are few people who are better equipped to help our new majority change the way the House works and advance a new governing agenda that reflects the will of the people we serve.”
But Bill Allison of the Sunlight Foundation, a government transparency group, called the move “business as usual,” noting that Loper’s now “in a much better position to help his old employer.”
“The public thinks that they’re electing a radically new Congress. And the freshmen may change but the people with power in Washington are always the same,” Allison said.
Loper worked in senior positions for then House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and as the House Ways and Means Committee Republican staff director under then-ranking member Rep. Jim McCrery of Louisian.
With his jump from K Street to the speaker’s office, Loper is one of the highest profile, but certainly not the only, lobbyist to land on the Hill as Republicans staff up.
Incoming Republican House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers is considering hiring Lockheed Martin executive and lobbyist Bill Inglee as staff director of the powerful panel.
And The Washington Post on Thursday highlighted a number of Republicans who have hired registered lobbyists as top aides, including Republican Sens.-elect Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky. Republican Reps. Robert Dold of Illinois, Steve Pearce of New Mexico and Jeff Denham of California have also hired K Streeters.
In addition to Loper, Boehner announced that Mike Sommers will serve as deputy chief of staff for leadership operations and Dave Schnittger will serve as deputy chief of staff for communications operations under current chief of staff Barry Jackson.
