Former Rep. Berman heads to K Street

Former Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) is headed to K Street, where he is joining Covington & Burling as part of the firm’s global public policy and government affairs practice.

{mosads}The news comes a week after the firm announced it had landed former Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), the former No. 2 Republican in the Senate.

“We could not imagine a more formidable and impressive pair of former members to join our team and to strengthen our capacity to support our clients’ interests,” Timothy Hester, chair of the firm’s management committee, said in a statement.

Berman was a 15-term lawmaker who lost his reelection bid in a contentious battle with fellow Democrat Rep. Brad Sherman in California’s redrawn 30th congressional District. At one point during the primary, Berman and Sherman appeared to nearly come to blows at a debate.

While in office, he chaired the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the 111th Congress; the firm praised his knowledge of international issues.

“We expect him to generate significant interest among international clients as well as a wide swath of U.S. companies,” said Holly Fechner, vice chairwoman of Covington’s public policy and government affairs practice.

After the loss, Berman was whispered to be a potential replacement for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and even had Sherman’s backing for the role, but the position ultimately went to former Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.).

“Congressman Berman is one of those special members of Congress who is widely respected for his principled leadership and liked because of his decency and warmth,” said Covington’s public policy leader, Dan Bryant. “We are thrilled to have such an accomplished person joining Senator Kyl and the rest of our team.”

As a former House member, Berman may not lobby his former colleagues for one year.

This post was updated at 11:58 a.m. to reflect that Berman lost in the general election to Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.).