Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle moves to DLA Piper

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) has joined DLA Piper as a senior adviser, the firm announced Wednesday.

Daschle had been an adviser at Alston & Bird, a lobbying and law firm. He is also a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.

“Sen. Daschle is a senior statesman and is justifiably regarded as one of the wisest and most effective problem solvers in Washington as well as in the nation and the world,” said Francis Burch, global chairman of DLA Piper.

“His decision to join us is a tremendous boost to the entire firm,” said James Blanchard, the co-chairman of DLA Piper’s Government Affairs group and a former Democratic governor from Michigan.

Daschle had not registered to lobby while at Alston & Bird. President Barack Obama nominated Daschle for secretary of the Health and Human Services Department. But Daschle withdrew after it was discovered he hadn’t paid $128,000 in taxes, partly for the free use of a driver and car.

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