Chris Stewart launches new lobbying firm days after leaving Congress
- Erin Alberty, author ofAxios Salt Lake City
Then-Rep. Chris Stewart at a congressional hearing in February. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images
Former Republican Utah Rep. Chris Stewart has launched a D.C.-based lobbying firm.
Driving the news: Days after Stewart's early departure from office last week, news of the venture became widely known when national consulting agency American Global Strategies announced on Tuesday a partnership with the new firm, Skyline Capitol.
- Stewart founded Skyline with his former chief of staff Clay White.
Flashback: Stewart said he was retiring from Congress due to his wife's health.
Details: Delaware business records show Stewart incorporated the firm less than a month after he announced his resignation, the Salt Lake Tribune reported Tuesday.
- Ethics rules forbid Stewart from contacting his former colleagues in Congress for a year, but he may advise clients on how to lobby them and work directly with the Biden administration.
Of note: American Global Strategies was co-founded by Utahn Robert O'Brien, a former Trump national security adviser who was considered a prospective candidate for Mitt Romney's soon-to-be-vacated Senate seat.
- O'Brien told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday that he would not run after all.
What's next: Stewart's reliably Republican 2nd district seat will remain empty until January when the winner of November's special election takes office.
- Former Stewart staffer Celeste Maloy won the Republican primary this month and will face state Sen. Kathleen Riebe, a Cottonwood Heights Democrat.
- Stewart won re-election in 2022 with nearly 60% of the vote.