Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Where's Dick Gephardt?

He might be joining Goldman Sachs.
Former Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.) is in the final stages of negotiating a contract with Goldman Sachs, one of the nation’s premier investment-banking firms, several sources close to Gephardt said.

Gephardt, 64, declined through an aide to say what his role will be. However, the aide, Sharon Daniels, said that he will not lobby.

Gephardt stepped down as House minority leader at the end of 2002 to concentrate on his presidential campaign. He retired at the end of last year.

A Gephardt adviser said that the former House majority and minority leader is also negotiating with several law firms, including Bryan Cave LLP, which is headquartered in St. Louis and where his former chief of staff, Steve Elmendorf, is heading up a strategy group.

The adviser said that Gephardt has also talked with Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld LLP and Piper Rudnick LLP but that the former lawmaker’s time commitment to any law firm would be minimal.

Gephardt will also serve as the advisory board chairman of the Richard A. Gephardt Institute for Public Service at Washington University in St. Louis. Professor emeritus Jim Davis, the director of the institute, said that Gephardt’s involvement with the university would be minimal, requiring only a half-day about every three months.

He is planning to serve on the board of Anheuser-Busch, the St. Louis-based beer giant, according to a source who has spoken to Gephardt about his post-congressional plans. That role will also likely consume a small slice of Gephardt’s time.

The Greater Talent Network Inc. has also advertised him as one of its speakers for hire.

That means that after Gephardt’s first several months making the rounds on the speakers circuit he is likely to devote the bulk of his time to Goldman Sachs, which is based in New York.

A former colleague and Democratic lobbyist said that Gephardt is valuable to an investment-banking firm because he can provide strategic political advice on what is happening in Washington and Congress and brings with him a well-stocked Rolodex.[...]

Daniels asked on behalf of Gephardt for news of his talks with Goldman Sachs not to be reported because no final deal had been inked. Later in the day, she denied knowledge of the negotiations and said that she was Gephardt’s scheduler and that the former leader did not have a spokesperson.

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