Butterfield resigns from Congress ahead of starting lobbying job

Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) resigned from Congress on Friday, days before the end of his term, ahead of starting a new lobbying position on Saturday.

Butterfield, who did not run for reelection, told WRAL that he will be starting at a Washington law firm where he plans to do lobbying and policy work. He is barred from lobbying Congress itself for one year but can lobby the executive branch.

“It’s another phase of my professional life, so I’m looking forward to it,” he said, according to WRAL. “It will be a slower pace.”

The former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus was first elected to the northwestern North Carolina district in 2004. His term would have automatically ended at noon on Tuesday had he not resigned on Friday.

When he announced his decision not to seek reelection in 2021, Butterfield criticized North Carolina congressional maps that made his Democratic-leaning district much more competitive. 

But after legal challenges, North Carolina used a different court-drawn map for the 2022 election that kept the district Democratic-leaning.

State Sen. Don Davis (D) was elected this year to replace Butterfield as North Carolina’s 1st District congressman.