U.S. Rep. Ron Kind of La Crosse, speaking at the 2016 Democratic Party of Wisconsin State Convention in Green Bay, did not run for reelection in 2022 after representing the western part of the state for 26 years.
WASHINGTON – Former U.S. Rep. Ron Kind isn’t cutting ties with D.C. following his retirement from Congress at the end of last year.
The Wisconsin Democrat is joining the Washington-based law firm Arnold & Porter as a senior policy advisor with the firm’s legislative and public policy practice, the group told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Kind will counsel the firm’s clients dealing with the government on issues ranging from tax and trade regulations to health care and retirement security issues. Some of that work could involve helping clients navigate recent legislation passed through Congress.
“It’s a good fit because it checks all the right boxes for me,” Kind told the Journal Sentinel. “It’ll be fun to be able to continue working in those areas that I’ve devoted so much of my life to already.”
Kind, who represented Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District since his election in 1996, served on the House Ways and Means Committee, a powerful panel that is effectively Congress’ chief tax-writing body, carving out a role on Capitol Hill as a pro-trade Democrat. He focused throughout his career, in part, on health care-related issues and was largely recognized as one of the more bipartisan members of Congress during his 26 year tenure.
His move into the D.C. policy world is not unusual for lawmakers after they retire from Congress. Former Connecticut Democratic U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd serves as senior legal counsel for Arnold & Porter.
In an interview, Kind, who received a law degree from the University of Minnesota and was previously a district attorney in Wisconsin, said he is
Kind, a Democrat, said he would work on tax, trade and healthcare issues
(Reuters) – Former longtime U.S. Rep. Ron Kind is joining the lobbying practice at law firm Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, the firm said on Monday
Kind, a Democrat who served 13 terms representing a Wisconsin U.S. House district, will work in Washington, D.C., as a senior policy adviser in the firm’s legislative and public policy practice.
Kind said he will work with clients on issues he focused on during his tenure in Congress including tax, trade, healthcare and retirement security. Kind said Arnold & Porter was a “logical, natural choice” because of its international reach and its bipartisan team that includes lobbyists and lawyers from both Democratic and Republican backgrounds.
“It is always a very bipartisan firm in its approach to issues,” Kind said. “That’s why the environment and the culture there fits very well with what I’ve been doing for the past 26 years.”
Kind was known in Congress as a political moderate who founded the centrist pro-business New Democrats Coalition in the House. He was also a senior member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee and helped shape the landmark Affordable Care Act during the Obama administration.
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He retired from the House last year after facing a close race for re-election in 2020.
With the Biden administration’s domestic agenda likely stalled in a divided Congress, Kind said there was an opportunity to shift focus to foreign issues such as free trade, which has faced growing opposition from both parties after years of bipartisan support.
He also called for a solution to the ongoing stalemate over the U.S. government’s
